
OassljiYViiG 



Book 



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A HISTORY 




F 



I\OWING IN AMERICA 



BY ROBERT B. JOIIMSO]%% 



CONTAINING 



A TEEATISE ON EOWING, TRAINING AND EXER- 
CISE, WITH ALL NECESSARY INFORMA- 
TION FOR AMATEUR AND PRO- 
FESSIONAL OARSMEN. 



■ ♦ ' 



ALSO 

A HISTORY OF ROWING: ITS INTRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT 
IN AMERICA, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES OP PROMINENT 
OARSMEN, DESCRIPTION OF BOAT-BUILDING, 
DICTIONARY OF BOATING TERMS, 
ETC., ETC., WITH CONTRI- 
BUTIONS FROM 



WILLIAM BLAIKIE, 
JOSHUA WARD, 
C. P. KUNHARDT, 



ROBERT FULTON. 



BEN J. F. BRADY, 
STEPHEN ROBERTS, 
A. McC. DUNCAN, 




MILWAUKEE. 

^OBBITT 3c JOHNSOX, PUBLISHERS. 



1871. 







Tc 



i:PL^ 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871> 

By ROBT. B. JOHNSON, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



TO 



WILLIAM BLAIKIE, 

• BOSTON. 



BENJ. P. BRADY, 

NEW YORK. 



Two honorable and honored American Amateur Club and College OarS' 
men, this Work is inscribed, as a slight recognition of their 
noble efforts in behalf of American Rowing, 
and asa mark of personal esteem, by 

THE AUTHOR. 



\ 



ACKNOWLEDGMENT. 



It is with the greatest pleasure that, in placing this Work 
before the Rowing Men of America, I am able to mention the 
names of a few who have cheerfully given ail the assistance in 
their power, with no other reward than the knowledge of having 
done all that in them lay, to advance the cause of Kowing in 
America. 

If the Work is not popular, it will not be because the Row- 
ing Men of the country neglected to try and make it so. 

To the following gentlemen, then, I return my sincere thanks 
as well as to a hundred others, some of whom I am not at, 
liberty to mention: — 

^ WILLI iM BLAIKIE, Boston, Mass. 

* BENJAMIN F. BRADY, New York City. 

JOSHUA WARD, Cornwall, N. Y. 

STEPHEN ROBERTS, New York City. 

C. P. KUNHARDT, -United States Navy. 

J. H. GIRVIN, Albany, N. Y. 

J. HARRY LEE, Baltimore, Md. 

GEO. R. W^RIGHT, Milwaukee, Wis. 

R. E. CLEMENS, Erie, Penn. 

E. RUSSELL BERRY,. Milwaukee, Wis. 

A. MoC. DUNCAN,... .Savannah, Ga. 



PREFACE. 



This little volume, whose object is to treat of Rowing, 
Training, Racing, Exercise, etc., in all their bearings, was 
ready for publication early last fall, but the parties with 
whom I had supposed a definite arrangement concluded for 
its publication, seeing fit to avail themselves of a very small 
hole through which to escape from their engagement, made it 
necessary to hold it over until the present time. 

The merely keeping back the publication of the Work, 
until this day, alth^^ugh a disappointment, would not be 
nearly so great, were it not that the delay has necessitated 
many changes in the arrangement of the matter, while some 
portions of the manuscript before intended for publication, 
have been left out entire, and others rewritten, making a 
task, which, much as I am devoted to the cause, I would 
willingly have escaped. While I am aware that many errors, 
must, from the nature and manner of its preparation, have 
crept into the Work, whether of theory or composition, or 
both, I must plead, as an excuse, that of John Locke, 
in the preface to his ''Human Understanding:'^ ''I will 
not deny but that, possibly, it might be reduced to a nar- 
rower compass than it is ; and that some parts of it might 
be contracted, the way it has been writ in, by catches, and 
many long intervals of interruption, being apt to cause some 



6 PKEFACE. 

repetitions. But to confess tlie truth, I am now too lazy, or 
too busy, to make it shorter." 

It has been said that a fashion prevails, of late, with au- 
thors, in lieu of identifying the preliminary pages with the 
subject matter of the Work, to embody in them an apology 
for intruding, somewhat after the style of Mr. Paul Pry, and 
that the difficulty of disguising this under an '* excuse" for 
publication amounts to more than the toils of authorship. 

The exception to this, says the same cynical authority, is 
to be found in the preface of an author who claims a philan- 
thropic motive for the publication of his book, while still an- 
other was forced to succumb to the entreaties of innumerable 
friends, and print his little collection. In my position, as 
author of this volume, I think I may be excepted, in both 
these degrees, from the above charge. ,In the first, the ob- 
ject is to develop and encourage, among the youth of Ameri- 
ca, a love for exercise, and more especially that of Rowing ; 
while, at the same time, it is a complete instructor upon 
everything pertaining thereto. In the second, although my 
friends were not so uncharitable as to urge me to sacrifice 
myself upon the altar of literary ambition, in the manner re- 
ferred to, they yet accorded me such encouragement and as- 
sistance as led me to take the risk. Two years ago, a cer- 
tain Boat Club just organizing, desired to obtain a book 
which should teach them the proper system of Rowing and 
Training. They tried all the leading publishing houses, 
but no such Work was to be had. A little later, the Har- 
vard vs. Oxford Race, was about to take place, and innum- 
erable articles appeared in every newspaper in America, 
some stating that the Harvards did not pull an American 
* ' stroke, ' ' — others that they did. Some said that their ' ' form' ' 



PREFACE. 7 

was different from that of the Englishmen, and, just previ- 
ous to the race, articles appeared in the prominent English 
journals, stating that *' Harvard, at the last moment, adopts 
the English *' stroke." This, of course, with a view to pave 
the way to a possible defeat of the Oxfords. 

It was with these facts before me, and a knowledge that 
no special system of Rowing and Training appeared to be 
universally adopted in America, tjiat I undertook the task of 
writing a treatise on these subjects, and submitting them 
to the rowing fraternity of America. 

Boating has become so prominent among the recreative 
arts, in America, during the past few years, and interna- 
tional contests, giving rise to long and earnest discussion 
upon the relative merits of English and American training, 
have been so frequent that the want of some real American 
authority has been severely felt, and, in this volume, I mod- 
estly lay claim to this authority. 

Wherever I have felt a doubt upon any point, I have not 
hesitated to consult the best authorities, before giving a posi- 
tive opinion, and where such authorities seriously conflict, 
I have advised a course that may be pursued with safety. 

The contributions, by the gentlemen whose names accom- 
pany them, will add much of value to it, as they are promi- 
nently known as boating men. In regard to the reliability 
of this Work, I can only say that, a year ago, I sent out 
circulars soliciting information and assistance, and that since 
that time, I have been in correspondence with the leading 
amateur and professional oarsmen on this side of the Atlan- 
tic, most all of whom have assisted me in many ways, and 
whose views upon these subjects can be traced, in various 
parts of the volume, by those acquainted with them. 



8 PREFACE. 

r' 

I at first intended, and had prepared, an account of all 
the prominent Races in the history of American Sowing, 
but these I have cut down to a small compass, upon the ad- 
vice of leading oarsmen, as the record would only be com- 
plete to the date of publication. I had also a history of all 
the Clubs in America, which would have been published, had 
the Work appeared in time ; but I now throw them out, re- 
luctantly, as a catalogue is being prepared by a prominent 
boat-building firm, which will give them in full. 

In conclusion, I must beg that the oarsmen of America be 
not too critical in their examination of the Work, but, taking 
the will for the deed, accept it as the offering of one who de- 
sires to do what he can for the cause of American Rowing. 

ROBERT B. JOHNSON, 

Milwaukee, March 1st, 1871. 



EXERCISE 



ITS RELATION TO HEALTH. 



However great may have been the advances of the mod- 
erns in science, and in multiplying the resources of art, they 
are still inferior to the ancients (more particularly the 
Greeks and Romans) in a knowledge and practice of the 
union of physical with mental culture. 

Until of late years, there seemed to be no medium be- 
tween, on the one hand, an almost total seclusion of youth to 
the sacrifice of their health and bodily vigor, and on the 
other, a constant addiction to rough sports, to the neglect of 
all intellectual and moral improvement. If the youth, at 
school or college, indulged in exercise, it was either irregu- 
lar, forced, and violent, or so unnatural as to deform and re- 
tard the growth of the whole body, by the too exclusive use 
of a single limb. 

Looking at the subject in a medical light, it may be con- 
sidered a doubtful point, whether ail the resources which 
chemistry has now placed at the disposal of a physician, in 
such a variety, of the most powerful mineral preparations 
and active principles of vegetables, are not counterbalanced 
by a neglect and ignorance of the combined power of regimen 
and methodical, yet varied exercise, on which many of the 
ancients laid such emphasis, and in the employment of which 
they were so often successful. 



12 EXERCISE. 

It is generally thought sufficient, with us, to cultivate the 
mind by written and oral instruction, and leave the body to 
rust or waste, as individual caprice may prompt. Every 
reader of history knows that the Greek and Roman youth 
were treated after a very different method. Strength of 
body and endurance of fatigue, were not then thought in- 
compatible with easy and graceful movements, finished de- 
livery in speech, and the sublimest speculations in philo- 
sophy. The education of the Greeks (the Lacedaemonians ex- 
cepted) consisted of four principal branches, viz : The 
gymnastic exercises, letters, including oratory and philoso-, 
phy, music and painting. 

The Gymnasia were schools for all manly exercises, to give 
robustness to the frame, and to preserve it in the plentitude 
of health, while at the same time, it became the bettej pre- 
pared to endure the fatigues and privations of war. The 
five principal exercises practiced in these establishments, and 
subsequently in the national games, or festivals, were run- 
ning, wrestling, boxing, throwing the discus, or quoit, and 
leaping. To these, it is claimed by some, should be added 
the contest for the javelin. Not only was muscular power 
increased by these means, but the senses were rendered more 
acute, and the facilities for acquiring knowledge, through 
these important, and, indeed, only channels, were greatly 
increased. The connection between the efforts of the mind, 
and feats of bodily strength and agility, was formally ac- 
knowledged, not only in the practices of some of the most 
distinguished statesmen and philosophers of antiquity, but 
also in the fact of prizes being disputed in the Olympic games, 
for history, poetry and eloquence, as well as for the exercises 
already mentioned. Herodotus recited the nine books of his 



EXERCISE. . 13 

history at these games, and Sophocles is said to have expired 
through joy, at receiving a poetical prize at them. 

Gymnastics has been defined : ' ' The art of regulating the 
movements of the body, in order to develop its strength, to 
improve its agility, its pliancy, and its powers ; to preserve 
or re-establish health, it is intended, in fact, to enlarge the 
moral and physical faculties." Grymnastics maybe studied 
under several points of view, such as in reference to the 
means and processes employed, its application to the study of 
the Olympic games, and military exercises, and finally, its 
uses in hygiene and therapeutics, or to the preservation of 
health and cure of disease. Herodicus has been regarded as 
the founder of medical gymnastics, although Galen refers to 
Esculapius, as one of long anterior date, .who gave directions 
on this head. 

Herodicus, by following his own maxims of exercise, from 
being a valitudinary, became healthy and robust. He has 
been accused of being somewhat empirical in his directions ; 
and it was left for his pupil, Hipocrates, to give method and 
consistency to this branch of the healing art. The latter 
recommends gymnastic exercises in many parts of his treati- 
ses on diet and regimen. Celsus, his imitator and admirer, 
was very particular in pointing out the gymnastics applicable 
to the diseases of which he speaks. 

Galen, in his difi*erent works, gives precepts on the appli- 
cation of methodical exercise. But the object of this intro- 
duction is not to urge a resort to gymnattics, or any special 
form of exercise, so that it be " exercise," and not an '^ air- 
ing," which some people are in the habit of taking every 
week, perhaps, every day, no matter which, in a close ba- 
rouche or other vehicle, which does not do them as much 



14 EXERCISE. 

good as if they were to recline for an hour' in a pitch-pine 
coffin, as the surroundings in the latter position might possi- 
bly soften the heart, while those of the former would not cer- 
tainly toughen the body. 

The vanity of parents, by which they urge their children 
to excessive exercise of their mental faculties — that is, of the 
brain, is either productive of inflammation of this organ, 
ending in death, or throws it into such a state of lassitude as 
to give rise to mental imbecility, perhaps, downright idiocy, 
in after life. Grown and aged persons are too apt to forget 
that confinement in a close room, and continued application 
of tie mind to one subject, for hours, which they allow them- 
selves, though not always with impunity, cannot be practiced 
by children whose organs, muscular and nervous, that is, of 
locomotion and sensation, require continued variety and 
space, and fresh air. Every part in the young is growing 
and impressible, and every part must receive its due propor- 
tion of stimulus and exercise. 

Without fresh air, and indulgence in bodily sports, respir- 
ation cannot be fully performed. Of course, the blood can- 
not undergo the changes which fit it for carrying nutrimental 
matter adapted to the wants of the several parts of the sys- . 
tem, such as earthly matter to the bones, fibrin to the mus- 
cles, and so on. Digestion, of necessity, becomes impaired. 
The external senses are all in a state of forced inactivity, 
except, perhaps, the eye ; and this, instead of being exercised 
in looking at the innumerable objects in nature, is being 
ground down in attempting to read small print. A lack of 
sufficient bodily exercise is not only prejudicial to the mind 
and future usefulness and greatness, but it injures the health 
and destroys, irredeemably, the natural cheerfulness of early 



EXERCISE 15 

life, making it, by cruel anticipation, a depository of the 
anxieties and despondency of old age. 

On the advantage of exercise in the open air, people are 
generally agreed ; but false theory, indulgence, excessive 
thirst after riches and literary renown, present so many ob- 
stacles, in the way of giving to this opinion more than the 
force of an abstract truth, that the majority of mankind suf- 
fer from neglect of a habit, — that of walking,— which it is in 
the power o:^ nearly all to practice. • 

We run with avidity, after dormant balances, steel and 
whalebone splints and the like, under the expectation of 
getting a little support for a weak back, or to correct a pro- 
pensity to stoop, or to lean a little to one side. But we re- 
ceive coldly, a demonstration of success, in correcting these 
infirmities, by the simple and natural process of exercise, 
and the consequent strengthening of the muscles of these 
parts, which, together with the ligaments, are the true sup- 
porters and bracers of the back bone. Out-door exercise can- 
not, with us, be so active, persistent, and varied, as in 
Great Britain, France and Germany, as there are few coun- 
tries in the world in which so marked a difference prevails 
between the temperature of winter and that of summer, as 
in the United States. These, it is true, embrace a diversity 
of climates, and yet the remark just made, applies to all the 
States in the Union, except the extreme Southern ones. 
So vivid a contrast between these seasons, requires of the 
inhabitants, a mode of living and style of dress, and even 
intellectual efforts, strongly contrasted. We ought, in the 
summer, to adopt all the precautions of even a rigid hygiene, 
but in the winter, to use a more substantial and nutritive 
aliment, in conjunction with numerous sports and athletic 



16 EXERCISE. 

exercises, as well to give present vigor as to prevent future 
disease, and a freedom from languor and debility may be ex- 
pected the following summer. * Many of these will be the 
more beneficial by being voluntarily had recourse to without 
the entreaties of friends or the formal advice of a physician. 
If the youths who glory in the excitement of an English 
game of '* hockey," known in America by the homely name of 
*'shinney" could persuade their dyspeptical fathers and nervous 
mothers to walk out and witness their exhibitions, and occa- 
sionally to extend their walks around the water course or 
rivers, or around the ponds, which are the theatre for the 
display of agility and address in skating and sliding, these 
latter worthy personages would be more willing to retire to 
bed betimes ; would sleep sounder, and would awake in the 
morning with a less feeling of the horrors, than some of them 
are wont to complain of. But, more's the pity, this is not 
the case. Practice and experience are words of great power 
in the social concerns of life, and give their possessors much, 
and merited influence, over others less practiced and less ex- 
perienced. But feeling the deficiencies which kept themselves 
in ignorance of much that is useful and profitable in this life, 
are men sufiiciently alive to the means of protecting those 
over whom they have charge, from the sinister influences, 
which, in earlier life, may have pressed on them. The whis- 
perings of vanity are more readily listened to than the sug- 
gestions of wisdom, and the health of a child is oftentimes 
sacrificed to the love of exhibition in a parent. But it is not 
necessary to dwell any longer upon the criminal S3^stem, now 
so prevalent, of cooping up and restraining children in their 
desire, which is a natural and common one, to all creatures, 
to exercise the physical faculties which God has given them. 



EXERCISE. 17 

I will allude, in a few brief lines, to the position of a grown 
up boy, or young man, at college. We here find the adoles- 
cent, hardly more gifted in the use of his senses and limbs, 
than the child. 

He learns the various figures of speech, the beauties 
of classic authors ; but is often ignorant of the division 
of the kingdoms of nature, or of the class of the vege- 
tables which furnish his daily food. He goes into the 
country, without even a knowledge of the implements of 
husbandry, still less of the way to handle them ; or, perhaps 
he goes on board a vessel, hardly knowing what a compass 
raeans, and fearful of climbing a few steps up the rigging. 
In fine, the well educated youth, as he from college 
is sometimes called, enters the world unfitted to take an ac- 
tive part in its concerns, to appreciate the merits and wants 
of his fellow citizens, to aid or counsel them in any one 
practical enterprise or useful labor. And whence this help- 
lessness, this grown childhood? Mainly from a want of natural 
exercise. 

The object of exercise is to secure that vigor of body, 
which is indispensable to the performance of other duties, 
and that permanent strength of constitution, without which 
there is little hope of happiness or usefulness. It is justly 
regarded as the basis of success in other branches of educa- 
tion, the only means of ensuring to the pupil the power of 
employing, in future life, the acquisitions which he makes at 
so great an expense of time and labor. For those who have 
not felt the sad evidence of this in years of debility, it is 
sufficient to point to the numbers of literary men who are 
annually obliged to abandon their pursuits, either partially or 

entirely, because the body is incapable of sustaining the 

2 



18 EXERCISE. 

mind in its efforts. They need only observe tlie multitude 
of others who, with ample intellectual preparations, maintain 
with difficulty, an artificial and painful existence, and whose 
physical debility prevents them from exploring the depths 
of science, and soaring to heights of speculation, which they 
feel to be within their grasp, but pant in vain to reach. 

Disease will generally come suddenly, violently, and fre- 
quently enough, even when we do our best to avoid it, but 
to take no measures to ward it off, and even to court it, as is 
so often done, and in so many different ways, is criminal in 
the extreme. The summer season puts us of the northern 
and middle latitudes, in nearly the same physiological condi- 
tion in which the inhabitants of southern climates are, most 
of the year round. If we would avoid disturbance and dis- 
ease, headache and continued thirst, feverish heat and actual 
fever, flushed skin, or one covered with eruptions, we must 
imitate these latter in their usual diet, and substitute vege- 
table for much of the animal food we consume in the winter, 
drink simple water, or this fluid slightly acidulated, or deriv- 
ing flavor from dried fruits. We should rise early and in- 
hale, when not in marshy districts, the morning air ; avoid 
the hot noon and afternoon sun ; use the tepid or warm bath 
in the middle of the day, or in the evening, if the dinner has 
been very simple and light, and taken at an early hour. 
They who awake in the morning with a hot skin and active 
circulation, may, with advantage, have recourse to the cold 
bath, or to sponging the surface with cold water. But if ex- 
cess of any kind has been indulged in the night before, 
whether in eating or drinking, or dancing, till a very late 
hour, the cold bath ought to be omitted and the tepid or 
warm bath substituted for it. 



EXEECISE. 19 

Health, to be won, must be like maidens fair, and stately 
dames, diligently sought. A person ignorant or negligent of 
all the rules of hygiene may for a time retain comfortable 
bodily feelings — so will occasionally an eccentric beau, a *' bete 
farouche " of a man, attract female regard, perchance love ; 
but both are surely trying critical experiments ; and, it must 
be admitted that the rules of Cornaro in the first, and of 
Chesterfield, on Politeness, in the second instance, are much 
safer and pleasanter of general application. Country air is 
very grateful, refreshing and invigorating ; but it does not 
shield a person against a country sun at noon, or chilling dews 
at midnight. Drinking mineral water and sea bathing are 
often admirable recuperative agencies, but they are not anti- 
dotes against the efi*ects of gormandising, drinking freely of 
strong liquors at dinner, or heavy suppers, late hours and 
dancing. Rural scenes gladden the mind, and by imparting 
cheerfulness, improve the health ; but their influence will not 
extend through the walls and closed doors of a fashionable 
hotel, however romantic and picturesque a country it may be 
in ; nor will rouge, artificial flowers, and the German, even 
in such places, be substitutes for the fresh breeze fanning the 
cheek, flowers in all their native bloom, and variegated colors, 
gathered by the party himself, and a gallop on a docile steed, 
or a row on a placid stream. Fortunately, however, within 
the last year, since the opening of railroad communication 
with Colorado and Nevada, has placed it within the power of 
all to avail themselves of the healthful air and pure water of 
these mountainous territories, those who can be benefitted 
by these agents, can find them here, and at the same time 
will live on plain, pure fare, which is far from being the case 
at the water cures, so-called. 



20 EXERCISE. 

The hypochondriac, whether from indolence or the oppress- 
ive cares of business or study, or disappointed love, (a pos- 
sible though not very probable case), will not recover the 
tone of his spirits by merely going into the country and visit- 
ing a watering place, and while there, spending his mornings • 
in a billiard room, and his evenings in flirting, with the little 
interludes of yawning over a novel, or talking politics after 
dinner. Change of place, to be beneficial, by restoring the 
body to healthful vigor, and the mind to its lost equanimity 
and cheerfulness, must be aided by the rules of hygiene, 
which are little else than common sense experience, eating 
and drinking, sleep and exercise, in such measure and times, 
as the majority of those not perverted by vicious indulgence 
nor excessive love of lucre and fame, have ever most gener- 
ally adhered to. Two of the chief means by which Hygiea 
dispenses her benefits, to those of her votaries who visit min- 
eral springs and watering places generally are bathing, and 
drinking the waters of the famed fount. The benefits from 
the first, or bathing, are mainly referable to ablution, and 
the effects depending on the temperature of the bath, rather 
than to any mineral impregnation in the water. 

Of course, the citizen, doomed to keep the limits, can as well 
enjoy the bath, as he who climbs the Alleghany, or immerses 
himself in the waters of the Atlantic ocean. What are called 
medicinal baths may, indeed, from the influence of faith, pro- 
duce wonderful results in the same manner as miracles have 
been wrought in periods of superstition, at fountains which 
have been hallowed by some patron saint. Their natural efii- 
cacy was improved by their supernatural reputation. They 
were really salutary because they were supposed to be sacred. 



EXERCISE. 21 

It was the imputed holiness of the well, which gave it, in a 
great measure, its healing quality. 

The priests of Paganism knew how to turn natural gifts 
and phenomena to account in favor of superstition, when they 
erected temples near or over a mineral or thermal spring, and 
made the invalids who came to invoke the assistance of their 
favorite god, undergo a l-egular course of bathing. An ar- 
rangement of this kind is still evident in the ruins of the 
temple of Jupiter Serapis, near Naples. The warm sulphur- 
ous water of an adjoining spring was diverted into basins in 
which the sick and infirm, and on occasions, we may presume, 
the priests themselves and the attendants of the temple bathed. 

The necessity of cutaneous abstersion to comfort and health 
seems to have been, and still to be, more generally admitted by 
the half civilized people of northern Europe and Asia than 
by those who boast largely of their refinement and knowledge, 
such as the Anglo-Saxons and Anglo-Americans. Even 
they who visit the places where bathing is performed, are too 
indolent, as a general thing, to adopt the practice, and they 
carry home the dust and perspirable matter accumulated on 
the skin during the journey. What a commentary this upon 
their search after health. 

One would imagine that from their conduct they enter- 
tained a medical theory similar to that of a tribe inhabiting 
the Great Desert in Africa, and who are thus noticed by a mod- 
ern traveler: *' No people have greater aversion to water 
than the Tuaricks generally have. Even in performing their 
necessary purifications, which require that a man should wash 
in a particular way, before his prayers, they avoid water and 
make use of sand. Many attempts were made by us to dis- 
cover their reason for keeping in such a dirty state, but to all 



22 EXERCISE. 

our inquiries the same answer was returned : * God never 
intended that man should injure his health, if he could avoid 
it ; water having been given to man to drink, and cook with, 
it does not agree with the skin of a Tuarick who always falls 
sick after much washing. ' " It were most earnestly to be wished 
that an approximation to habits of this kind should doom the 
offender to a residence in the Great Desert, as the proper asso- 
ciate of his fellow-savages. 

Tf a person who is obliged to stay at home during the sum- 
mer, should regularly take a warm bath, at from 92"^ to 96*^, 
twice a week, about an hour before dinner, and rub his skin 
with a coarse towel or sponge dipped in salt and water, every 
morning on rising, he will, as far as regards bathing, have 
little cause to envy his more fortunate traveling friend for 
the advantage which this latter may be presumed to enjoy at 
some famous mineral spring. Nor need this tarry-at-home 
person despair of deriving benefit from drinking every morn- 
ing early, and at noon, a tumbler full of the water from his 
own spring or adjoining lake or river, with the addition thereto 
of a saline substance, such as a few grains of common salt, or 
a tea spoonful of epsom, with a few grains of magnesia. 
Should the water have previously contained earthy matters, 
rendering it unpalatable or disagreeable to the stomach ; or 
should it offend and lie heavy on the stomach, in consequence 
of its coldness, it should be boiled and then drank of a tem- 
perature either of the atmosphere, or tepid, or warm, as per- 
sonal experience has ascertained to be most salutary ; still 
adding, however, the ingredients above mentioned. I should, 
for myself, have great faith in the pure water itself, without 
any addition, the more particularly if all spirituous and fer- 
mented liquors were to be abstained from at the same time. 



EXERCISE. 23 

Let our staid citizen put himself on this course of bathing 
and drinking ** mineral " water, as above, for six weeks or two 
months, keep good hours, take a walk in a public square, or 
in the suburbs of the city, in the morning and in the even- 
ing, before the dew begins to fall, and I will venture to as- 
sure him that he will be able to advantageously compare 
notes, as to the state of his health and spirits, with very 
many of his friends, when they shall have returned from their 
trip to the Springs or to the Sea Shore. 

Health, once obtained in this manner, should be retained, 
as far as the individual himself has the power to retain it, by 
constant and judicious exercise, temperate living, and a lib- 
eral use of pure air. 

No special game, sport, or style of recreation, has been ad- 
vised in these opening pages, as they were simply intended to 
contain a few remarks upon exercise in general, in its rela- 
tion to health and the cure of disease. The recreation, how- 
ever, of which all the succeeding pages treat, is Kowing — the 
noblest, manliest, and approaching nearest to the scientific, 
of any game, or sport, or play, in any nation, clime or 
country. 

As a recreation calculated to strengthen a man's or a 
woman's body, as well as to improve the spirits and 
pacify the mind, I would recommend it to all who need ex- 
ercise — and who does not? as affording great pleasureable 
enjoyment and blessings of body and of soul. 



Row^i^g as an Exercise. 



ROWING AS AN EXERCISE. 



There are those people who are always endeavoring to 
make use of everything or anything, which may, if even in 
the most insignificant manner, serve to introduce them to 
public notice. 

Some go about lecturing upon all the sensational topics 
of the day; others, of the senatorial class, endeavor, by 
introducing some law, teeming with wise provisions and sug- 
gestions, (so they think,) to win public favor, as a modern 
Cincinnatus ; while the Divinity class, many of them, use 
what little ability nature has endowed them with, to the end 
of combining the sensational, jDolitical and social doctrines 
of the day, with a few moral deductions from Scripture, and 
giving this from the pulpit, with the title of a discourse, as 
the Lord's Word, which is to be the support of their hear- 
ers in their hour of darkness ; their food and drink in pover- 
ty; and, in time of sickness, their guiding star to future 
glory. 

As to whether or not, this system ensures popularity to 
the preacher, it is only necessary to call to mind the leading 
Divines of the present day, whose ''sermons" are either 
printed in full in pamphlet, or in synopsis in the public 
prints, as the ebullitions of great minds, which should be 
given to the '' people " — at twenty-five cents a copy. 



ROWING AS AN EXERCISE. 27 

There is another class of would-be popular men, who en- 
deavor, to the best of their ability, which, fortunately, is 
not very great, to write down many of the harmless amuse- 
ments and recreations indulged in at the different seasons of 
the year. They anticipate an amount of public attention 
and favor, by exposing ** the danger to health " of indulging 
in these '* baneful'' sports, fully equal to the popularity 
which the recreation, or sport itself, enjoys with the people. 
And it is only by constantly maintaining this howl of 
*' danger to health " that they succeed in attracting any at- 
tention whatever, for many, who recklessly violate every 
day, the most vital laws of health, are greatly alarmed and 
distressed at the prospect of disease from a source whence ii 
is scarcely possible for it to come. 

The recreation selected as the subject matter of this 
book, — that of Rowing, — has been several times assailed, in 
different countries, by writers vainly aspiring to prominence, 
as something to be indulged in, if indulged at all, with the 
extremest caution, because of the '* danger to health " like- 
ly to result from a too frequent or incautious use of the oar. 
Such remarks as these, from men of intelligence, can only 
excite, in the minds of those who know their falsity, a feel- 
ing of contempt for their author. But there are those, poor 
souls, who will never exert themselves to the pitch of think- 
ing for themselves, but get all their ideas of * ' nature and of 
God," from what somebody else has said or written. As a 
natural consequence, they are obliged to either accept or re- 
ject, in toto, everything they read or hear, and in the in- 
stance of reading a condemnation of Rowing, and not having 
any written defense, they feel compelled to raise their voices 
against it. 



28 ROWING AS A'N EXERCISE. 

It is not with a view of endeavoring to remove the preju- 
dices of this class, formed in this way, that I intend to say a 
few words upon the advantages of Rowing, as an exercise ; 
but to endeavor to induce those who either take no exercise at 
all, or if any, other and less beneficial exercise than Rowing, to 
resort to it. The act of Rowing, when properly performed, 
keeps the whole body in a state of active and invigorating 
exercise, the muscles of each limb being used in a manner 
well calculated to strengthen and develop them, while, with 
the chest expanded and the head well up, a healthy state of 
respiration will be maintained, and the muscular power of 
the stomach and lungs cultivated and increased. 

A man in Rowing, takes his place upon the " thwart '' with 
his body erect and legs ''at ease," resting against the 
'' stretcher ;" at the moment of '' reaching, ' ' or '' taking," his 
arms shoot out straight and stifi' from his body, the hands hold- 
ing the handle of the oar with a firm grip. The oar is then 
dipped into the water, and the whole '' body force " thrown 
upon it ; the legs being straightened out simultaneously with 
the backward motion of the body, until the oar becomes para- 
alell with the body, when the entire muscular power of the arm 
is concentrated in a sudden but continuous semi-jerk to the 
finish. The swaying backward and forward of the body, 
while the legs and arms are in motion, cannot fail of strength- 
ening, in a wonderful degree, the chest, back and stomach ; 
and as for the arms and legs, there is no exercise or occupa- 
tion in which man was ever engaged, where so much natural 
' ' work ' ' is done as in Rowing. 

With regard to the effects of Rowing, Dr. Fraser, of the 
University of Edinburgh, made a number of observations 
with a view to ascertaining the effects of Rowing on the cir- 



ROWING AS AN EXERCISE. 29 

culation, experimenting for tlie purpose, upon the crew of 
one of the University boats. The " sphymograph " was used 
automatically to record the pulse movements, and apart from 
any intrinsic importance, his observations may prove of some 
interest, in relation to recent discussions on the probably in- 
jurious effects of Rowing. The observations were prolonged 
throughout the greater part of the period of training. The 
changes produced were of an extremely uniform character, 
not only on the different occasions, but also with the differ- 
ent members of the crew. He presents, in Humphry's 
Journal of Physiology, wood cuts of the tracings of the 
pulse of the ' ' stroke oar. ' ' The tracings all show that an 
extremely large quantity of blood is being circulated, with 
great rapidity. It is obvious that in the great majority of 
the functional and organic diseases of the vascular system 
such a position could not possibly be maintained. The au- 
thor concludes that the subjects of these diseases are there- 
fore completely incapacitated for violent Rowing exercise, 
and cannot be in a position to be injured by it. It is possi- 
ble that the presence of incipient forms of disease in the 
vascular system, might altogether prevent such exercise from 
being undertaken ; but, he believes that all such diseases 
may be detected by the use of the ** sphymograph" in time 
to prevent further mischief; the examination being made 
immediately before the boat is entered, and a few minutes 
after a moderate ^' pull " has been indulged in. 

Very little mischief, however, I am of opinion, need ever 
be feared, in this direction, or from the source named, and if 
violent Rowing seriously disagrees with a man, he will soon 
find it out, he may rest assured ; and, moderate Rowing- 
will not injure any man, woman, or child, who is able to lift 



30 ROWING AS AN EXERCISE. 

an oar, and that is all I have to say to the quacks who cry 
out against it, as they would cry out against everything else, 
calculated to improve the physical condition of mankind. 
Just in proportion as the health of communities becomes 
better, their practice and income becomes less, and they 
would prefer, when sure of good pay, to prescribe nos- 
trums for an individual the whole year round, rather than 
to advise good and frequent exercise and a christian mode 
of living. 

It would be impossible for any one to learn, from read- 
ing, about the benefits of Rowing, as an exercise. It must 
be tried to be appreciated, and any one who has tried it a 
few times is prepared to admit that, as a health-giving, body- 
strengthening moral exercise, it has no equal. 



Morality of I^ow^ing, 



MORALITY OF ROWING. 



It will Dot be necessary to say a great deal upon this sub- 
ject to those who are acquainted with the manner in which 
the amateur boat clubs of America are managed, and for 
those who are not, and are of opinion that the practices of 
Rowing and dissipation are concommittants, I should advise 
the perusal of the '* Constitution and By-Laws '^ of any re- 
spectable association in the country. Almost every regular- 
ly organized Boat Club, or Crew, has the most stringent 
rules, prohibiting the introduction of liquor in any shape, or 
under any circumstances, into the boats or boat-house of the 
Club. The Captains of all crews maintain the strictest sur- 
veillance over their men, and any breach of regulations, in 
regard to the use of liquor or tobacco, costs the offender a 
severe trial. A course of dissipation, or even the most mod- 
erate use of alcohol and narcotic stimulants, is just as incom% 
patable with training for Rowing as shaking dice would be 
with the professions of a candidate for holy orders. 

No oarsman in the country would be so foolish as to 
engage in an aquatic contest at the same time that he was 
smoking his half dozen cigars, and drinking his regular 
*' four-fingers " of gin and milk every day, and if he is, or 
if a crew are, and have to ''pull" against men who have 
" trained and abstained," they will learn, to their cost, that 



34 MORALITY OF ROWING. 

in order to be a successful oarsman, a man. must exercise 
often and keep clean. 

It is true, as has been stated in another portion of this 
book, that many oarsmen do indulge in dissipation during 
the intervals between races, but this is no more to be charg- 
ed to training than it would be to a temperance pledge, had 
they been bound by one for the same length of time. The 
question is not what men do when out of training, but when 
in training ; and, in reply to the inquiry : ' ' Are the sur- 
roundings of a man in training calculated to injure him 
morally !" I answer, most emphatically, no, — but, on the 
contrary, according to the experiences of all trainers, and all 
men who have been trained, they are calculated to elevate 
and improve his moral condition in the highest degree. 

This fact of constantly exercising, of daily bathing and 
purifying the body, of eating nothing but good healthy food, 
of keeping regular hours for going to bed and rising, is sure 
to benefit the mind and purify the soul, making happier and 
better christians' of all who follow it. 



I^ o w^ i n g . 



ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



EOWING. 



ANCIENT AND MODERN. 



If not an impossible, it would be at least a difficult, as well 
as profitless task, to attempt to come at the precise antiqui- 
ty of Rowing. 

Certain it is, however, that the oar was used as an instru- 
ment with which to projxel ships, long before the Christian 
Era, and, although as a matter of course, great improvements 
have been made since that time, in ship-building and naval 
architecture, generally, as near as we can ascertain from his- 
tory, the oars used by X*erxes, over two thousand years ago, 
were essentially of the same style as the flat-baded ''sweep " 
used at the present day. They were used in various ways 
by the ancients, amongst whom the Athenians were perhaps 
the most proficient and skillful in the use of the oar, if we 
may judge from the success which attended many of their 
naval battles. Sometimes they were used as paddles, and at 
others as sweeps, projecting from port-holes in the sides of 
the boat ; the rower being concealed from view, for his better 
protection, as good oarsmen were scarce, and only a certain 
number were educated in the use of the oar. 



88 ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

In the battle of Salamis, between the Greeks and Per- 
sians, about the year four hundred and eighty, before 
Christ, we are told that the Greeks employed a fleet of three 
hundred and eighty ships, requiring, it would seem, a con- 
siderable number of rowers. The Persians had a much 
larger fleet, but were miserably defeated in the battle, owing, 
it is said, to their being very much inferior to the Greeks, 
in naval skill. Now, naval skill, at that time, as at the pre- 
sent, consisted in the rapid and effective evolutions of a ship,, 
in movements offensive and defensive ; and, as the Greeks 
showed themselves so much the superiors of the Persians, as 
well as of most other nations at that time, in that branch of 
art, it is only fair to concede to them the honor of being the 
champion oarsmen of their day. 

The Romans, at this period, and for several centuries 
after, were very backward in their acquaintance with nauti- 
cal affairs generally, but having at about the year two hun- 
dred and sixty, (B. C.,) determined to conquer Sicily,* they 
set about acquainting themselves, somewhat, with the art of 
building and managing a ship. But they could not hope to 
contend successfully against the Caflrthaginians, who were, or 
would be. their rivals, if the Romans succeeded in building a 
fleet, but who were now possessed of a powerful naval force, 
under the command of skillful mariners. 

The Romans, however, were never daunted by difficulties, 
and determined, to make the best description of craft possible, 
under the circumstances. Fortune, at this time, as at many 
previous and subsequent ones, smiled upon them : a Cartha- 
ginian ship-of-war happened to be cast away on the coast of 
Italy, and with this for a model, in the space of sixty days 
from the time the timber was cut, they had a fleet of one 



ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 39 

hundred and thirty sail afloat. Meanwhile the ships were 
building, those who had been selected as rowers were oblig- 
ed to '' practice their art seated on benches, erected for the 
purpose on the land." 

This was certainly an original and novel method of teach- 
ing men the art of Rowing, and whether it was an effective 
means or not, history does not state ; but the Komaas, al- 
though courageous and self-reliant, were yet not rash enough 
to venture a battle with the Carthaginians, upon what, under 
other circumstances, would have been equal terms, but 
which now, in consideration of the much, more extensive ex- 
perience of the latter upon the water, rendered them greatly 
superior to the former, resorted to an ingenious, and, as the 
sequel proved, a successful device to conquer their enemies. 
They constructed what they termed a ''crow," which was, 
in fact, nothing more nor less than a modern pile-driver, with 
a long arm, and placed this, or one of these, for they had a 
number of them, in the bow of each of their ships, and 
when the enemy came to close quarters, this was sprung over 
the boat, usually sinking the craft and leaving its occupants 
at the mercy of the victors. 

The Carthaginians observed these instruments in the 
boats of their antagonists, but only laughed at them, not 
thinking that they were so easily outwitted on their own 
element. The Romans gained a decided victory, and were 
afterwards, as history shows, quite a powerful nation upon 
the water. Caesar, himself, we have good reason to believe, 
would have been lost upon the Adriatic, while pursuing 
Pompey into Greece, had it not been for the skill of his at- 
tendants, who rowed the boat safely to shore. We are told 
that when Antony was at Tarsus, in Ciiicia, he summoned 



40 ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

Cleopatra to his presence. Having murdered her brother, 
she was now sole ruler of Egypt, and reveled in the most ex- 
travagant luxury. At the mouth of the riv'er Cydmus, she 
entered her barge, the deck of which was adorned with gold, 
and its sails were purple. The oars, of which there were 
about twenty, were set with silver, and the rowers kept time 
to the sound of flutes and lyres. The Queen, dressed like a 
goddess, reclined beneath an awning embroidered with gold, 
while boys, adorned like cupids, sat fanning her. Her female 
attendants were around her, in the habits of graces and the 
nereides, or sea-nymphs, and costly spices and perfumes 
were burned before her. The figure-head of her barge repre- 
sented a draggon's head, and was most elaborately carved. 
The masts, of which there were two, were surmounted by 
golden crowns, and the entire craft was constructed and 
adorned in a style surpassing description. 

When the news of her approach reached Tarsus, it is said 
that all the people crowded to see her, and history says that 
Antony was left sitting alone on his tribunal in the market 
place. He -sent to invite the Queen to supper, but she in- 
sisted that he should come and sup with her, which he did, 
trying afterwards, in vain, to equal the magnificence of her 
entertainment. Perhaps no person before, or since, has ever 
gone Rowing in such state as this Queen ; and, certainly very 
few of our oarsmen, upon ''barge days," propel their craft 
to the music of " flutes and lyres." So that, although we 
have some very handsome barges amongst our clubs now-a- 
days, we can scarcely hope to equal that of "the pompous 
dame of Egypt." 

The oars made use of, on that occasion, were of very 
moderate length, and tapered from the end of the blade, 



ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 41 

which was encircled by a silver band, to the handle, which 
was almost oval and handsomely tasseled. It is fair to pre- 
sume that speed was not so much the object as display, in 
the "get up" of the barge. 

The Scandinavians, and Northmen generally, appear to 
have been rather behindhand, for many centuries, in all that 
related to the ai^t of boat-building ; for, we find them as late 
as (A. D.) nine hundred and sixty, making conquests of 
surrounding islands, in ships of the most unwieldly model, 
propelled by oars, looking, for all the world, like modern 
soup ladles, only that the handle merged gradually into the 
ladle portion, instead of being distinct from it. They were, 
however, skillful and fearless navigators, and understood 
thoroughly the use of their craft, and made many valuable 
conquests and discoveries. 

(xradually the intercourse of the nations became more ex- 
tensive, carrying, as a consequence, civilization throughout 
Europe and the Nortb. Each nation, emulous of its neigh- 
bor, put forth every effort to increase its possessions, and 
thereby its wealth ; and, as a consequence of this condition 
of things, the art of ship-building was fostered and develop- 
ed. By the year 1500, sueh progress had been made in 
ship-building and navigation as warranted the undertaking 
of the longest journeys by sea, and at this period, as we 
know, it attracted more attention, in consequence of the dis- 
covery of the New World, than at any previous one in the 
world's history. 

Almost as late as the Sixteenth Century, some of the ships 
of Portugal, which was then a great maritime nation, were 
propelled mainly by large sweeps, canvass, as a matter of 
course, being used in conjunction therewith. The oars, or 



42 * BOWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

more properly, sweeps, used at tiis time, were of good 
model, but, of necessity, very large and heavy, to suit the 
service for which they Avere made. Many of the severest and 
most important battles were fought upon the water, and vic- 
tory, in almost all cases, was achieved mainly through su- 
perior seamanship, so that the safety and independence of 
the principal nations depended upon the '* availability '' of its 
ships and sailors. 

We have no means of knowing at what precise date the 
crew were mustered who first '' manned the capstan '^ or 
** spliced the main-brace;" but, whoever they were, to them 
we give credit for having been the first to introduce a system 
of practical and successful boat rowing in crews. By this 
I mean that Rowing in Crews, as practiced now among boat- 
ing clubs, had its origin in the navy, where, from almost the 
earliest history of all regularly organized navies, down to the 
present time, regular crews of men have been detailed to 
'*pull'' the various small boats carried by men-of-war. An 
officer has at all times accompanied crews in their expedi- 
tions in small boats, taking command, and usually acting in the 
capacity of Coxswain. It required, of course, that intelligi- 
ble orders should be given to the men, in order to insure 
promptness and expedition in the execution of all commands ; 
therefore it is, that the various orders now used in the dif- 
ferent navies were gradually adopted and retained. 

They were all common-sense, and simple enough, and, for 
the most part, very appropriate. In man}^, and in fact, all 
the battles fought upon the sea, much of success depended 
upon the skill and efficiency of boats' crews in boarding and 
grappling. They were often obliged to '*pull" their boat 
through a rough sea, exposed to a galling fire, which they 



ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 43 

could not return, and after having reached the enemy's 
ship to board and endeavor to capture it. 

It is little wonder then, that the Art of Rowing, born and 
fostered in the navy, should make rapid progress, and that 
after Northern barbarism had been superseded by European 
civilization, and the recreative arts had been transplanted 
from their birth place in the classic hills and valleys of an- 
cient Rome and Greece to the Continent of Europe, Rowing 
should be taken hold of and encouraged as an art, which, 
although so little known in the days of the Caesars, was des- 
tined to rank first in the arts of the physical world. As 
Europe became populous and wealthy, recreation became the 
privilege of a large class of people, and the Continent being 
so liberally supplied with fine rivers and bays, naturally, 
boating was resorted to as the recreation affording most profit 
to health, and, as a consequence, an interest was taken in it 
among the upper classes, making it a popular and refined ex- 
ercise, which it has^ been ever since, and is likely always to 
remain. 

' England, particularly, although not on the Continent, has, 
from the earliest times, always nourished and encouraged among 
its people a fondness for athletic sports, and that she has been 
well repaid is seen in the vigorous character of her people, who 
have not, however, *' cultivated their muscle at the expense of 
their brain," as the wonderful genius of her statesmen amply 
testifies. Rowing has, in England, taken the precedence of all 
other sports ; victory, with the oar, has brought to many a man 
there, as much glory and honor as triumphing over his fel- 
lows, in class competition, has to many another. The Eng- 
lish people appear to take naturally to active out-door exer- 
cise ; whether this arises from the natu.re of the climate, or 



44 ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

from some other cause, it is difficult to determine ; but, cer- 
tain it is, they enter into their national sports heart and soul. 
The real cause, however, is probably to be traced to the age 
of Chivalry, when feats of agility and boldness often won for 
a man knighthood and the favor of royalty. 

America, from the mixed nature of its population, and 
from other causes, has had no such national characteristics 
engrafted into the lives of its people. It has, however, cul- 
tivated to a certain degree of perfection, all the recreative 
arts, and the imputation of being a *'puny American'' is 
fast becoming '' played out.'' 

The Art of Rowing prospered in England; the people 
took hold of it as a genuine means for the cultivation of both 
the physical and mental powers of man ; they encouraged it 
to such an extent, that it was adopted as *'the" sport in the 
Colleges and Academies, wherever water could be found in 
sufficient quantity to practice it. The annual contest be- 
tween the two leading Colleges has become more popular 
with each repetition, and it is now safe to say that it equals, 
in intensity of excitement, the "Derby Day." In the 
United States, also, although not for so long a time, we 
have had annual contests upon the water between rival 
Clubs connected, for the most part, with Colleges in the 
Eastern States. 

Much as has been said about the little attention that has 
been paid to exercise or sport in the United States, in past 
years, when it is taken into consideration that until within 
a comparatively few years, most of our cities were very new, 
and that the wealthy class was very small and scattered, it is 
astonishing to note the attention that was paid to Rowing, 
and the number of flourishing Boat Clubs that were formed 



ROWING ANCIENT AND MODERN. 45 

in far off western towns, (at that time,) when '' time was 
money," indeed," and little of it could be spared for any 
but necessary recreati(^. Amongst the many thousands 
who were constantly migrating from Eastern States to the 
Great West, were some who were devotedly attached to the 
Art of Rowing ; and the influence and example of these, add- 
ed to the natural fitness of the magnificent Lakes and Elvers 
with which the country is blessed, to the prosecution of 
acquatic sports, gradually cultivated a taste for them among 
the people, which has ever been on the increase, and well 
organized Clubs, occupying well built houses and owning 
handsome '* shells" and boats, of all classes, can now be 
found in almost every city and town. The West may, per- 
haps, make less ado about her sports than some other sec- 
tions of the country, but she is none the less active or pro- 
ficient in them. 

Rowing occupies a place in American sports, to which none 
other can ever attain, and is of itself a refining and refined exer- 
cise, worthy of, and happily also receiving a large share of 
attention from the whole American people. I would wish to 
claim for Rowing everything that can be claimed for it, by 
even its most enthusiastic admirers, but I will not, as many 
have, go so far as to classify Rowing as a science. All 
human knowledge is said to consist of sciences and arts, and 
it is sometimes, if, indeed, not always, difficult to draw the 
line of distinction between them. All the principles of sci- 
ence have some reference to practice, and the theory of every 
art may, perhaps, be called a science, but there is a differ- 
ence between them which, important or not, as it may be, is 
about as follows : A science is a system of general truths, 
relative to some branch of useful knowledge, and supported 



46 ROWINa— ANCIENT AND MODERN. 

by evidence, either demonstrative or iiigUy probable. An 
art is the application of the organs of the body, or the facul- 
ties of the mind, to the execution of some design, directed by 
the best principles and rules of practice. A science is ad- 
dressed entirely to the understanding ; an art generally occu- 
pies both the understanding and the members of the body. 
A science is acquired by study alone ; an art cannot be ac- 
quired without much practice of the operations it contains. 
Accurate knowledge is all that is necessary in science. Emi- 
nence in art demands besides an acquaintance with rules and 
the habit of dextrous and ready performance. So that we 
cannot designate Rowing as a science, and not being a science, 
it MUST be an art. 

But the glance which we have taken at the origin and 
progress of Rowing, circumscribed and imperfect as it may 
be, is amply sufficient for our purpose, as, in fact, it is not 
really essential to the work, but may be accepted as the 
literature of Rowing. % 



ROWING— -MODERN. 



The record of Boat Races in America seems not to have 
been very well kept, until within the past ten years, and the 
accounts of races, anterior to 1860, are rather imperfect. 
The literature of Rowing, although scant now, was indeed 
meagre then, and very few early races of interest are re- 



KOWING— MODERN. 47 

corded, with the exception of those which took place in New 
York City. It is very reasonable to suppose that races used 
to occur fifty years and more ago, when what are now great 
seaboard cities, were only villages, but the inhabitants either 
failed to record them, or their descendants neglected to pre- 
serve the record. In 1859, the New York Dispatch repub- 
lished a partial account of a race that came off in New 
York Harbor, in December, of 1824, between a crew of 
the British frigate "Hussar," then lying in the harbor, and 
a crew of Whitehall boatmen, for a purse of one thousand 
dollars. Captain Harris, of the frigate, issued the challenge, 
which was accepted by the Whitehallers, and the 9th of 
December was appointed as the day of the race. The crew 
of the British boat had won a number of races in different 
parts of the world, and were considered almost invincible. 
The boat used by the Whitehallers was the '^American 
Star," which had previously been in several races, in all of 
which she gained considerable honor. In the race, the Star 
took the lead at first, but the "Dart," which was the name 
of the English boat, soon came even. The Whitehallers 
now made a " spurt," and got the lead again, which they 
kept increasing, from time to time, until the finish, coming 
"home " about four hundred yards in advance of the English 
crew. 

The race was conducted with the utmost good feeling on 
both sides, and the crew of the British launch, which served 
as the "home stake " boat for the frigate crew, greeted the 
victors with three hearty cheers, and " struck " their flags. 
The distance was four miles, and is said to have been made 
in twenty-two minutes, in a heavy swell. An immense 
crowd congregated to witness the race, which created the 



48 ROWING MODERN. 

greatest *' furore" of any aquatic contest up to that 
date. 

Several prominent races, however, occurred at a date 
considerably earlier than this, among which that between 
two rival crews, one of Long Islanders, and the other of 
New Yorkers, deserves especial mention. This race came 
off in July, 1811, and was won by the New York crew, with 
ease ; they, however, having considerable advantage in their 
boat, which was more "seaworthy" than that of their 
competitors. The boat of the New York crew was placed 
in the old Museum, from which it was transferred to Bar- 
num's, where it remained until that institution was consum- 
ed by fire, in 1865. Quite a number of races, none of them 
very important, took place occasionally, from this date until 
1838, when a Whitehall crew challenged a crew in Newark^ 
N. J., to row a five mile race for one thousand dollars. The 
Whitehallers gained an easy victory, and had the lead from 
the start to the finish. 

Then followed a challenge from a Poughkeepsie crew to 
any crew in New York, to "pull" the same distance for a 
purse of the same amount. The gauntlet was soon taken up 
by a crew composed of two Seaman brothers, and four other 
"pullers," all of whom were well known and successful oars- 
men at that time. The New York crew won the race and 
purse without anything but an ordinary effort. The boat 
used by this crew was not permitted to remain long out of 
the arena. She was soon after matched against the " Spark," 
in a five mile contest, for one thousand dollars, in which the 
the latter came off victorious. The Roberts brothers, soon 
after this, had a race in their boat, the "Brooklyn," with 
another four-oared crew, in the " Fairy," which latter won 



ROWING MODERN. 49 

the race. In August, 1839, occurred a race which cre- 
ated quite an excitement, between the *' Shamburgh," of 
Whitehall, and the ** Shakespeare." It was a five mile 
straight race, and was puUed in good time< The course 
was from the Reef to Castle Garden, where a ^' stake boat" 
was anchored. It was impossible, at any time, to say which 
crew would win, as they changed places as often as six times 
during the race. It was a very close contest, from first to 
last, but finally terminated in favor of the '* Shakespeare." 
For several years previous to this time, a considerable inter- 
est was taken in aquatics in New York and vicinity, and 
quite a number of Clubs were formed, which flourished for 
longer or shorter periods of time. Some of the principal 
Clubs of this date were the Castle Garden Boat Club Asso- 
ciation, the ^rial Club, Pearl Club, Gazelle Club, Gull 
Club, Wave Club, and several others, of which the Wave 
was about the strongest. This was an epoch in the history 
of American Boat Clubs, which was certainly very remark- 
able for one thing, viz : The harmony with which all aqua- 
tic contests passed off, and the entire absence of anything 
like bickering at regattas or meetings. From 1834 to 1838, 
regattas were very common at Poughkeepsie and Newburgh, 
New York, at which immense numbers of people usually 
gathered, many of whom came from far sections of New 
York and the adjoining States. At one of these races the 
Gull Club, of New York, entered their boat, and carried off 
the second prize — a suit of colors — and after the race, the 
same crew pulled the boat from Newburgh back to the 
boat house in New York, a distance of sixty-five miles, and 
arrived there before 11 o'clock that night Another race, of 
considerable importance, took place in the summer of 1839, 



50 ROWING MODERN. 

between two four-oared crews, manning, respectively, the 
*^Duane" and the ^'Willis." It was a five mile race, 
with one turn, for a purse of one thousand dollars, and was 
won by the ''- Duane," without an efi'ort. 

Two years earlier than this, there was an important single 
'^ scull" race, between Stephen Roberts, at that time 
Champion, and Sidney Dorlon, who accepted a challenge 
issued by Roberts, to row any man for a purse of two 
hundred dollars. Subsequently to the arrangement of this 
match, they had three races, in the first of which Dorlon 
was victorious, and in the second Roberts. The third and 
decisive race was for a purse of four hundred dollars, and 
proved merely a walk over for Roberts, as Dorlon was taken 
with cramps before the race was well commenced, and ceased 
rowing. 

In October, 1839, a very exciting and interesting race 
came ofi", which was participated in by five four-oared boats 
and nine six-oared boats. The first race was won by the 
''Water Witch." The six-oared race, which was a very 
close and exciting one, was won by the ''Gazelle," which 
came in about one hundred yards ahead of all its competi- 
tors. 

In 1842, a regatta took place off Castle Garden, under 
the auspices of the association of this name. This was 
one of its annual contests, and was the last regular Associa- 
tion Regatta. The first race was for a beautiful goblet, 
and was contested for by three parties ; Mr. Baker winning 
the race with apparent ease. The second race was for a 
silver salver and goblet, and was contested for by four-oared 
gigs. Two boats, the "Atlantic" and "Experiment," 
were entered, and pulled a very exciting race, the 



ROWING MODERN. 51 

*' Atlantic " winning by a few yards. The third prize was 
a beautiful chased pitcher, to be tried for by six-oared 
boats. The '' Gazelle/' the '' Galatea," and the ^' Eagle," 
were entered. The "Gazelle" and ''Eagle" fouled at 
starting, by which the ' ' Galatea ' ' obtained a good lead, 
and won the race. 

In the summer of 1839, one of the most exciting and in- 
teresting of all the Newburgh Regattas came off. The 
Newburgh Club entered several boats ; the Poughkeepsie 
Club one boat ; Cold Spring Club one boat ; Castle Garden 
Association, New York, three boats ; Independent Boat 
Club Association, New York, three boats. The prizes were : 
Double sctdls, silver cup ; Four-oared boats, silver cup ; Six- 
oared boats. First prize, silver vase cup ; Second prize, silver 
cup. The record of this race appears not to have been kept, 
and the above data were obtained from the announcement 
made previous to the race. 

.The next regatta of this Association came off in 1841, 
and was for barges. The first race was for six-oared barges, 
and was participated in by eight crews, from different sec- 
tions of New York State and New Jersey. It was a four 
mile course, and was won by the ''Dutchess," in 16.11. 
The next race was for four-oared barges, and had ten 
entries. The "Thomas Jefferson," of New York, won this 
race. 

At Newburgh, in the summer of 1837, a contest took 
place between eight six-oared boats, six from New York and 
two from Newburgh. The ladies of the latter place made 
three handsome setts of colors, which they offered as prizes 
to the three first crews. The first and second prizes were 
won respectively, by the " Wave " and " Gull," of New York, 



52 ROWING — MODERN. 

and the third was awarded to the ^* Corsair," of New- 
burgh. 

The Regatta of 1842, was inaugurated and carried out 
on a fine scale, and wap certainly a credit to its projectors^ 
the Newburgh Amateur Association. The first prize, in the 
six-oar race, was one hundred and twenty-five dollars, 
and was won by the *' New Jersey ;" second prize, eighty 
.dollars, won by the *' Galatea;" third prize, thirty dollars, 
won by the ** Eagle." 

The second race- was the Citizen's Regatta, for four-oared 
boats. The first prize, one hundred dollars, was won by 
the ** Washington ; " second prize, sixty dollars, was won 
by the**Duane;" third prize, twenty-five dollars, won by 
the *' Robinson." The citizens of New Windsor offered 
two prizes, one of thirty-five dollars, and the other of fifteen 
dollars, for the winners of a sculling match. The ^' Crolious " 
of Newburgh, won the first prize, and the '' Hookemsnivey, " 
of the same place, the second. At this time there seemed to 
exist a friendly rivalry in aquatics, between the towns of 
Newburgh and Poughkeepsie, but after years witnessed a 
wonderful decline. Many a good crew hailed from Pough- 
keepsie, and many a hard-pulled race was won by her oars- 
men. The first of these races occurred in the summer of 
1837, which was participated in by six six-oared boats, from 
New York, Brooklyn, Fishkill and Poughkeepsie. The first 
prize was a purse of two hundred dollars, and was won by 
the ** Washington, " of Poughkeepsie, with almost ease. 
Two years later, on the Harlem, a regatta took place be- 
tween this boat, which was a famous one, and three boats 
from New York. The course was four miles and a half, and 
was made by the '' Washington," in 27.15 ; very good time, 



ROWING MODERN. 53 

indeed, considering tlie style of boat used. Taking it alto- 
gether, it was a hard-pulled race, and a well earned 
victory. 

It was not very long after this that another Regatta came 
off at Poughkeepsie. This was a five mile race, for four and 
^ix-oared boats. The *'D. D. Tompkins," of New York, 
won this race, beating the " Washington" by nearly a fourth 
of a mile, and winning the first prize, a beautiful boat, valued 
at three hundred dollars. 

The second race, for four-oared boats, was won by the 
*'Duane," of New York, to whose crew was awarded the 
.second prize, a boat valued at two hundred and twenty-five 
dollars. 

From this date, races began to be very frequent at most 
all points East, and boat clubs multiplied very rapidly. The 
first boating association in the United States was the 
'* Castle Garden Amateur Boat Club Association," organ- 
ized in New York City, in 1834, some of whose races are 
hereinbefore recorded. This association comprised a num- 
ber of clubs, whose houses were at Castle Grarden, and 
whose members, for the most part, were the first gentlemen 
in the city. The oldest boat club now organized is the 
Atalnata Club, of New York, which was organized in 1848. 
The two next oldest are the Bachelors Barge Club and Uni- 
versity Barge Club, of Philadelphia, the first organized in 
1853, and the second in 1854. After these, the oldest club 
in American waters, is the Milwaukee Boat Club, of Mil- 
waukee, Wisconsin, which was organized in 1855, and is 
one of the most flourishing clubs in the country. 

In October, 1850, several interesting races took place, 
one of which was a match race for a purse of two hundred 



54 ROWING MODERN. 

dollars, between the ** Washington " and ''Thomas Jeffer- 
son," two old rivals. The ''Jefferson" came in about one 
hundred yards ahead. 

In the fall of this year, a single scull contest, between 
four prominent scullers, came off opposite Castle Garden- 
The contestants were Lee, Burns, Decker and Thomas. Lee 
was a prominent sculler of this date, and came off victorious 
in this race. The same year he had a race with Conkling,, 
in working boats, for two hundred dollars. Lee also won 
this race by some two hundred yards. 

Another race of this 3^ear, was that between the "Com- 
modore" and " Bevins," single scull boats, which was won 
by the " Commodore." 

In 1852, the first of the College Races, between Harvard 
and Yale, took place on Lake Winnepiseogee, New Hamp- 
shire. Harvard entered the " Oneida," carrying eight 
oars. Yale entered two boats, the "Shawmut " and " Un- 
dine," each carrying eight oarp. The race was over a two 
mile course, the " Oneida " coming in first, and taking the 
first prize. The " Shawmut " won the second prize. 

Two years later, the city authorities of Boston inaugurat- 
ed a regatta, and offered prizes for single scull, six-oared and 
eight-oared boats. The eight-oared race was won by the 
" T. F. Meagher," of Boston, over a six-mile course, in 
42.05, taking the first prize, a goblet, valued at one hun- 
dred dollars. The " Stranger," of Boston, six oars, won 
the second prize, in 46.45, a silver cup worth seventy-five 
dollars. The single scull race was won by the "Allan," 
over a two mile course, in 30.55, silver cup, for fifty dol- 
lars. 

The following year, 1855, witnessed a repetition of this; 



ROWING MODERN. 55 

regatta, under the same auspices. The first race was for 
single sculls, distance three miles, and was won by the 
** Battery Pet," in 32.03, taking the first prize, a silver cup ; 
*^ American Boy," second prize, both New York boats. 
The second race was for Dories, and the first prize was 
won by J. Covell, of New York, in 35.37 1-2; second 
prize. Decker, New York, in 36.05. In the four-oared race, 
only two boats were entered, both of which were from New 
York, the Delmonico and Putnam. The course was six miles, 
and was won by the Putnam, in 51.09 ; the Delmonico com- 
ing in in 51.58. The Neptune, of St. John, New Brunswick, 
was entered, but did not start. These contests were both for 
Professionals. Next followed the race for Amateurs, over a 
six mile course. The Maid of Erin, eight oars, won this race in 
46.34 1-2, taking the first prize. The Ariel, six-oars, won 
the second prize, in 47.57. 

On the day following this regatta, the Putnam, of New York, 
the victor in the contest, was matched against the Neptune, St. 
John, New Brunswick, for a purse of six hundred dollars, 
over the same course. The Neptune went over the course, 
six miles, and won the race in 47.35, the Putnam making 
it in 51.50. 

On the same day as the Boston Regatta, the Newburgh 
Regatta came off, for double scull and four-oared boats. 
The four-oared race was won by the Torbos, of New York, 
prize one hundred dollars. Second prize, seventy-five dol- 
lars, was taken by the Suatzel. The double scull race was 
won by Ferguson and Deneke, of Peekskill. Single scull 
race was won by a Newburgh man. On the 11th of the 
following month. Burns and Daw, of New York, pulled an 
eight mile race, in twenty foot boats, for a hundred dollars 



56 ROWING MODERN. 

a side, which was won by the latter, by about two lengths, 
in 54 minutes. 

In September, a match came off at Boston, on the Charles 
River Course, between two crews, one from New York and 
the other from St. John, New Brunswick. The New York 
crew pulled in the James McKay, a shell, built by the gentle- 
man after whom it was named, and the St. John's crew 
pulled in a lap-streak, thirty-five feet long, and carried no 
Coxswain. The race was over a six mile course, and was 
won by the St. John's crew, in 42.14 ; the New York crew 
coming home in 42.46. This closed the Racing Season of 
1856. 

In May, 1857, over the Charles River Course, Boston, 
the Volant, belonging to the Volant Club, of that city, pull- 
ing six oars, beat the Huron, of Harvard College, also a six- 
oared boat, over a three-mile course, making the distance in 
21.00, against 21.38, by the Huron. 

In the middle of June, the Beacon Cup Regatta came off, 
over this course, between the crews of Harvard College 
and those of the Union and Urania Clubs, of Boston. The 
course was three miles, and was made by the Union, of that 
Club, in 21.21, winning the first prize. 

The Annual Regatta, at Newburgh, came off, as usual, on 
July 4th, and was for four-oared and single and double 
sculls. There were two four-oared boats entered, from New 
York, two from Newburgh, and one from Haverstraw. 
The first prize was one hundred dollars, and was won by the 
Experiment, of New York ; the second prize was won by the 
Wood, of Newburgh. The Brophy, of New York, took the 
first prize for double sculls. The single scull race was won 
by Daw. 



RO'WING MODERN. 57 

On the 16th of September, the Staten Island Regatta 
came off. The first race was for double scull working boats, 
and was won by the Henry Carr, rowed by Lee and Fay. 
Second race, double scull working boats, won by the Brophy. 
Third race, nineteen feet single scull boats, won by Burns. 

In October, of this year, an exciting race took place be- 
tween Daw, of New York, and Grienn, of Philadelphia, for 
a purse of one thousand dollars, over a five mile course, on the 
Delaware River, at Philadelphia. It was a close and hard 
contested race, and was won by Daw, in 43.06. 

On the day following this race, there was another profes- 
sional match between the two crews of the Experiment and 
Allaire, on the Harlem River, for a purse of four hundred 
dollars, over a five mile course. This race was very excit- 
ing, and was decided a draw, on account of the Allarie 
coming home on the wrong side of the stake. She made 
the distance in 35.15, and came in a half length ahead of 
her competitor. 

No race of importance occurred until June of the next 
year, when the second Beacon Regatta came off, over 
their course on the Charles River. The prizes were for 
wherries and six oars. The course for the former was two 
miles, and the prize was won by R. F. Clark, who made the 
distance in 14.54. The next race, for six oars, was con- 
tested by six crews, and was won by the Harvard, in 19.22. 
On the Anniversary of National Independence, this year, 
the Young Men's Democratic Club held a Regatta on 
Charles River, to be for wherries, four-oared boats, sixes and 
eights ; an allowance of thirty seconds to be made for all 
extra oars. The course for wherries was two miles, and was 
won by T. Doyle, in 19.29, taking a prize of twenty-five dol- 



58 KOWING MODERN. 

lars. p. H. Colbert took the second prize, fifteen dollars. 
The course for four-oared boats was three miles, and was won 
by the Red Michael, in 22.09, to which was awarded the 
first prize, fifty dollars. The Pride of Boston took the 
second prize, twenty-five dollars, in 23.00. The course for 
six-oared boats was six miles, and was won by the Harvard 
Crew in 40.25, taking the first prize of one hundred dol- 
lars. The second prize, fifty dollars, was won by the Fort 
Hill Boy in 41.44. The Newburgh Regatta also came off 
on this day, and was for four-oared boats, double-sculls, 
single sculls and fishing skiffs. The four-oared race was be- 
tween the Experiment, Bryant and Wood. The first prize 
was won by the Wood, one hundred dollars, and the second 
by the Bryant, twenty-five dollars. The skiff race was won 
by the Sarvis brothers, of Newburgh. The double-scull 
race was won by the Gazlay, of Newburgh. Single sculls, 
by Hancon. 

In August, the Staten Island Regatta, for single and double 
sculls and four-oared boats took place. The first prize for 
double sculls was won by the Gazlay, of Newburgh. The 
first prize, for single sculls, was won by Fay. The third 
race, for four-oared boats, was won by the Bryant, to which 
was awarded one hundred and fifty dollars. To the George 
J. Brown the second prize was awarded, twenty-five 
dollars. 

On the 27th of the. month, the Regatta at Springfield 
came off. Prizes were offered for four-oared boats, six- 
oared boats and wherries. The course for four-oared boats 
was three miles, and was won by the Wood, of Newburgh 
in 22.00 ; prize one hundred dollars. The Dan Bryant, of 
New York, took the second prize, in 23.30, fifty dollars* 



ROWING MODERN. 59 

In tlie six-oared race the Fort Hill Boy took tlie prize, one 
hundred dollars, in 21 minutes, over the same course. The 
Borietta, of New London, took the second prize, fifty dol- 
lars, in 21.45. The wherry race came next, over a two 
mile course, and J. H. Seymour, of New York, took the 
first prize, fifty dollars, in 16.10. The second prize, twenty- 
five dollars, was won by Burns, New York, in 16.45, Ex- 
periment, four-oars, of New York, took the first prize, one 
hundred and fifty dollars, making the three miles in 21.30. 
In the autumn of this year, October, 1858, Josh Ward, who 
afterwards became champion of the United States, pulled 
his first single-scull match, at Newburgh, where he was born, 
and has ever since lived. His competitor was John Hancon, 
and the race was over a two mile course. It was closely 
contested, and Ward won by two lengths, in 16.07. 

On the same date with the above race, a contest took 
place in Chicago, Illinois, between the Shakespeare Rowing 
dub, of Toronto, and the Metropolitan Bowing Club, of 
Chicago, at Chicago, over a five mile course, for a purse of one 
thousand dollars. Both boats were four-oared, and the 
Toronto boat walked away from the Chicago boat, from 
the start, leaving the latter an uncalculable distance behind. 
The time made by the Toronto boat was forty-two minutes. 

In 1859, a great number of very interesting Regattas 
were held in difi'erent sections of the country, one of the first 
of which was the third Beacon Regatta, on the Charles 
River, Boston. This was for single and double sculls, sixes 
and fours, the former to allow eleven seconds per oar to the 
latter. The L'Esperance, rowed by R. F. Clark, won the 
first prize, fifty dollars, over a two mile course, in 13.52. The 
double scull race was won by the Novice, pulled by Brackett 



60 ROWING MODERN. 

and Carpenter, two miles in 14.31, prize fifty dollars. The 
six-oared race was won by tlie Harvards, over a three mile 
course, in 19.11 1-2 ; prize one hundred dollars. 

On the 4th of July following, the Boston City Regatta 
occurred. The L'Esperance won the single scull shell race 
here also, making two miles in 14.53, and taking a prize of fifty 
dollars. Doyle took the second prize in 15.04, winning a 
prize of twenty dollars. The Olivia, single scull lapstreak, 
won the first prize in her class, in 15.29 ; prize fifty dollars. 
The Zouave, of the same class, won the second prize, twenty- 
dollars, in 16.11 1-2. The E. K. Gr. won the first prize 
for double sculls, two miles, in 14.49 ; prize fifty dollars. 
The Novice won the second prize, twenty dollars, in 14.59. 
The four-oared race was won by the Monaghan Crew, over a 
three mile course, in 20.53 1-2, taking a first prize, seventy- 
five dollars. *The Quickstep, four oars, won a second prize, 
forty dollars, in 21.01. The Fort Hill Boy, six-oars, also 
won a first prize of seventy-five dollars, making the course 
in 20.56 1-2. The Mill Boy, six oars, won a second prize 
of forty dollars, in 22.04 1-2. 

The Newburgh Regatta also came off on the same day, over 
a five mile course. Two four-oars entered from Newburgh, and 
two from New York. The Wood, of Newburgh, won the 
first prize, of one hundred and twenty-five dollars, making 
the distance in 39.00. On the 26th of the same month, the 
Union Regatta came off at Worcester, and was witnessed by 
a great throng of people. The shell race was for the cham- 
pionship, and was contested for by the students of Harvard 
and Yale, in six oared boats. The course was three ipiles, 
and was made by Harvard in 19.18, Yale coming home in 
20.18, The next race was for lapstreaks, and was contested 



BOWING — MODERN. 61 

by Harvard, Yale and Brown Universities. Harvard also 
won this race, in 21.13. Brown came in second, in 24.40. 
Tlie following day witnessed the Worcester City Regatta,, 
comprising three races. T. Grover won the single scnll race,, 
two miles, in 16.20, for a prize of fifty dollars. T. Doyle 
won the second prize, twenty-five dollars, in 16.28. In the 
shelll race for four-oared boats, the Leader, of New York, made 
the three miles in 21.01, taking the prize of $75. The Ex- 
periment, of New York, took the second prize of fifty dollars, in 
21.09. The six-oared shell race was won by the Yale crew, 
in 19.14, winning the first prize of one hundred dollars. 
Harvard took the second prize, of seventy-five dollars, making 
the course in 19.16. On August 15th, occured the third Re- 
gatta of the Richmond County Regatta Club, Staten Island. 
The first prize, for single sculls, was won by Hancon, seven- 
ty-five dollars. Second prize, twenty-five dollars, by Fay. 
The double scull race was won by Neville and Conklin, prize 
fifty dollars. Biglin and Leary came in second, and took 
the second prize of twenty dollars. In the four-oared race 
were entered the Leader, the Geo. J. Brown, Bryant, and 
three other boats, most all of which were well known in the East. 
The Bryant won the first prize of fifty dollars, the Brown 
winning the second prize of twenty dollars. On September 
20th, a single scull contest, of considerable proportions, took 
place at Newburgh, in which Ward, Brown, Hancon, and 
Grover, pulled a five mile race for one hundred dollars. 
Ward, who Was fast becoming the champion, won this race 
in good style, Hancon coming in second. During the same 
month, the Bryant was matched against the Geo. J. Brown, 
in a race for one thousand dollars. The Bryant came home 
in §4.40; the Brown being six seconds later, but in conse- 



62 KOWING MODERN. 

quence of a foul having occurred on the course, the Referee 
decided the race a draw. A few days later than this, Daw 
and Fay pulled a five mile race off Staten Island, for a purse 
of one thousand dollars, which was won by Fay, in thirty- 
nine minutes. 

On the same day with this race, a Regatta was held at 
Albany. The first race was for double sculls, and was won 
by Ward and Shaw, over a three mile course, in 23.20. 
The second race, for single sculls, was won by Hancon, in 
26.17. The four-oared race was won by the Stranger, in 
20.11, taking the first prize of one hundred dollars. The 
race for amateurs was won by the Stephen Roberts, of the 
Hiawatha Club. 

On the 11th of October following, occurred the finest 
single scull contest ever witnessed in the United States. It 
was a five mile race, for the Champion Belt and one hun- 
dred dollars, and was contested by Daw, Hancon, Fay and 
Ward. The race was well contested, and was won by Josh 
Ward, in the tremendous time of 35.10, the best time ever 
made in American waters. Two weeks later, on the Charles 
River, occurred a race for the Scullers Championship. Josh 
Ward won the first prize, over a three mile course, making 
the distance in 23.16 ; prize, two silk flags and two hundred 
dollars. T. Doyle won the second prize, one hundred dol- 
lars, in 23.26. 

The first race of importance, in 1860, was the second 
Regatta of the Bunker Hill Association, at Charlestown, 
Massachusetts. The single scull race was two miles, and 
the first prize was won by M. S. Smith, in 16.42 ; prize 
forty dollars. Second prize, J. Reed, in 18.01, prize twenty 
dollars. Olivia took the first prize for single scull lap- 



ROWING MODERN. 63 

streaks, in 17.20 ; amount of prize forty dollars. Second 
prize in tHs class was taken by the Artless, twenty dollars. 
In the race for double scull lapstreakg, Wells and Daly 
made the distance, two miles, in 16.28; prize fifty dollars. 
The Novice won the second prize, twenty-five dollars, in 
16.40. The next race was for six-oared lapstreaks, and 
was won by the Sophomore Crew, of Harvard, who made 
the two miles in 14.23, taking the prize of seventy-five 
dollars. Thetis, also a six-oared lapstreak, was entered by 
the same class, and took the second prize, of thirty dollars. 

On the 24th of this month, the Fourth Beacon Regatta 
took place on the Charles River. M. S. Smith won the 
race for single sculls, making the two miles in 14.31, win- 
ning the prize of fifty dollars. The race for double scull 
lapstreaks was won by L'Hrondelle, in 14.24, taking fifty 
dollar prize. The race for six-oared lapstreaks was won by 
the Thetis, of Harvard, which made the three miles in 
19.37, taking the first prize of one hundred dollars. The 
Shamrock, manned by the Wood Crew, came in second, in 
20.20. 

Two days later than this, June 25th, the South Boston 
Regatta came off. The race for single scull lapstreaks was 
two miles, and was won by the Olivia, in 15.35, tak- 
ing the first prize of forty dollars. The six-oar shell 
race was contested by Harvard and Brown Universities, the 
Wood Crew in the Shamrock, and the four-oared boat 
Quickstep manned by the Scott Crew. The course was 
two miles, and was won by Harvard, in 12.38, to which 
was awarded a prize of seventy-five dollars. The Sham- 
rock came in second in 13.43 ; then the Quickstep, and 
last the Brown University Crew. 



64 ROWING MODERN. 

Another aquatic fastival followed this, on July 4th, when 
the Boston City Regatta took place. The single scull shell race 
was two miles, and was won by M. S. Smith, in 14.02 1-2, 
the prize being sixty dollars. Reed took the second prize of 
twenty-five dollars, in 14.21. The race for double scull 
lapstreaks was won by Doyle and Colbert, in 13.45. Daly 
and Wells won the second prize, of thirty dollars, in 13.48. 
The race for six-oared lapstreaks was three miles, and 
the first prize, one hundred dollars, was won by the Har- 
vard Sophomore Crew, in 19.21. The Thetis, of the Har- 
vard Freshmen Class, won the second prize, of fifty dollars, 
in 19.37. The next race was for shells, six-oared boats to 
allow thirty-three seconds to four. In the shell race, the 
Harvard boat won the first prize, of one hundred and 
seventy-five dollars, in 18.53 1-2. The second prize, 
seventy-five dollars, was won by the Riley, four-oars, man- 
ned by the Murray Crew, in 21.10 1-2. 

Pittsburgh followed the lead of all the other cities where 
good racing courses were available, and gave a Regatta 
on the 7th of July of this year. It was under the aus- 
pices of the Alleghany Association. The races were for 
two-oared boats and four-oared outriggers. In the four- 
oared race there were four entries. The distance was three 
miles, and was made by the Adams, in 22.33. The Maid 
of Erin was second, in 22.45. In the two-oared race, the 
Highland Maid was victorious, in 27.10 ; the Leader making 
it in 27.20. 

On the 1 9th of July, there was a four-oared race, three 
miles, for three hundred dollars, on the Staten Island 
Course, between the Stranger, of Poughkeepsie, the Charles 
McKay and Judge Voorhes. This race was won by the 



ROWING — 3I0DEIIN. 65 

Stranger Crew, in 19.26. The McKay was second, in 
19.42. 

The next College Union Regatta took place on July 
24th. The races were for the Championship and handsome 
setts of colors. The six-oared lapstreak Thetis, by Harvard 
Freshman, won the first prize in 19.40 1-2 ; distance three 
miles. The Griyuna, of Yale, came home in 20.20. In the 
Sophomore race, the Harvard Crew went over the course, 
and claimed the race, in 20. 17 ; the Yale boat being with- 
drawn. The shell race followed, and was won by Harvard, 
in 18.53 ; Yale in 19.05 1-2. Brown University Crew came 
home in 21.15. 

The Citizens' Regatta, at Worcester, succeeded the above, 
on the day following. There were four races : single scull 
wherries ; double scull wherries ; six and four-oared lap- 
streaks ; six and four-oared shells. Single scull race and a 
prize of fifty dollars was won by Josh Ward, who made two 
miles in 15.17 1-2. T. Doyle took the second prize, 1y 
dollars, in 15.33. In the double scull race, Doyle and 
Colbert won in 18.18. Six-oared race, three miles, for lap- 
streaks, won by the Harvard Freshman, in 20.13; prize 
seventy-five dollars. The Gersh Banker, of Newburgh, won 
the next prize, of one hundred dollars, in 18.37; beating 
the Harvard lapstreak, which made the distance in 19.44 1-2, 
Yale, six-oared shell, 19.10 ; prize fifty dollars. 

On the 7th of August, a match race took place at Boston, 

between the Josephine, of that place, and the Mystic, of 

Charlestown, for a purse of two hundred dollars. Both 

boats were four-oared lapstreaks, and the distance was three 

miles. Josephine won the race by a long distance, in 

21-16. 
5 



66 ROWING MODERN. 

August 8th, an Amateur Race, for minors, with two 
prizes, came off. Blaikie won the single scull two mile race, 
and a prize of twenty dollars, in 15.40. S. L. Fogg won the 
second prize, of ten dollars, in 16.43. 

On September 5th, the Regatta House offered prizes for 
single-scull, double-scull and four-oared crews. The prize 
for single sculls, a hunting case watch, was won by Kinsley, 
who made the distance, two miles, in 17.15. The double- 
scull race was won by Doyle and Daily, in 17.34 ; prize 
silver ice pitcher. The four-oared race was won by the Un- 
dine, manned by the Colbert crew, three miles, in 24.53; 
prize silver tea sett. The Mystic came in in 25.23. 

The Poughkeepsie Regatta was held on the same day 
with this. Leary won a five mile single-scull race, in 48.26. 
The double-scull race was won by Donahue and Brown, of 
Newburgh, in 38.26. The race for six-oared shells was be- 
tween the Gersh Banker, of Newburgh, and James McKay, 
of Poughkeepsie. The McKay won the race, in 32.40 ; the 
Banker's time was 32.55. The second day the first race 
was for double-scull working boats, and was won by the 
Maggie, of New York, in 44.27. Fay won the single-scull 
race in 39.15. The George W. Shaw won the race for four- 
oared shells, in 32.55. 

On the 29th of September, the Alleghany Association 
held its Second Annual Regatta. The Moonlight won the 
three-mile single-scull race in 23.54. In the race for four- 
oared boats, the Adams won in 20.13 ; the Princess coming 
home in 20.15. The next race was for eight-oared barges, 
and was contested by the Volante, Imperial, Undine and Alba- 
tros. The Volante won in 21.15, Imperial coming home in 
21.38. The course vras three miles, for the champion flag. 



ROWING^MODERN. 67 

The Albany Regatta was held on October 11th and 12th. 
Dn the first day, the three mile six-oared race was won by 
the Bryant, in 24 minutes ; the Irving was second, in 26 
minutes. This contest was attended with very little excite- 
ment, as the result was too much of a foregone conclusion. 
The race for four-oared boats followed, and was won by the G. 
W. Shaw, in 21,24. The third race was for double-sculls, 
;and was won by Young and Piepenbrink. This race con- 
cluded the festival for the first day. The first race, on the 
,second day was for six-oared shells, and was won by the 
James McKay, of Poughkeepsie. The Zephyr, of Albany, 
won the second race, for six-oared barges. The fourth race, 
for single-sculls, open to all, was won by Josh Ward. The 
race for the single-scull championship of Albany, was won 
l)y G. F. Baker. 

On November 5th, Josh Ward pulled a great single scull 
race with Burger, pver a ten mile course, at Poughkeepsie, 
for five hundred dollars. Much interest was excited by 
this race, which was witnessed by great numbers of people. 
Ward won the race and money, in 83 minutes. 

On the 23d of the same month, Decker and Fay had a 
-sculling match for a purse of four hundred dollars, at 
Jersey City, over a four mile course. Won by Fay, in 
25.30; Decker coming home in 25.34. 

The Annual Citizens' Regatta, at Boston, for 1861, came 
off over the usual course, on the 4th of July, of this year. 
The single scull race, two miles, was won by Josh Ward, 
in 13.53; prize seventy-five dollars. The double-scull race 
was won by L'Hirondelle, two miles, in 12.54 1-2; prize 
one hundred dollars. The Stranger won the four-oared race ; 
distance three miles in 20.07, and took the first prize of one 



68 ROWING MODERN. 

hundred and twenty-five dollars. The Geo. J. Brown took 
the second prize, of fifty dollars, in 20.16. The six-oar race 
was won by the Amphitrite, Burnett Grew, in 19.25, taking 
the first prize of one hundred and seventy-five dollars. The 
Fort Hill Boy took the second prize, seventy-five dollars, in 
20.19. 

September 24th, John Biglin and William Stevens had a 
^Ye mile sculling match, at Poughkeepsie, for two hundred 
dollars. Stevens won the race, in 38.45. 

The Citizens' Regatta, of Boston, came ofi* on the 4th 
of July, 1862, on the Charles River. Fred Crowinshield 
won the two mile scull race, for boys under eighteen, in 
16.18, and took the first prize, twenty-five dollars. John 
Tyler, Jr., won the second prize, ten dollars, in 18.14. In 
the single scull race, for Professional Oarsmen, James 
Hamill made the two miles in 16.15 3-4, winning the first 
prize, of seventy-five dollars. T. Doyle took the second 
prize, thirty dollars, in 16.39. The Edith took the first 
prize, of one hundred dollars, in 17.06, distance two miles. 
The Hancon took the second prize, fifty dollars, in 17.33^ 
The race for four-oared boats was three miles, and was won 
by the Geo. J. Brown, of New York, in 21.01 1-2 ; prize 
one hundred and twenty-five dollars. The Tickler won the 
second prize, fifty dollars, in 21.06 1-2. The six-oared 
race was the same distance, and was made by the Union, in 
22.24, the prize being one hundred and seventy-five dollars- 
The McKay took the second prize, of seventy-five dollars, 
in 24.26. 

On the 13th of August, of this year. Ward and Hamill 
were matched in a three mile race, on the Schuylkill, for a 
purse of five hundred dollars. Hamill won this race in 37.39. 



ROWING MODERN. 69 

The next Annual Beacon Cup Regatta took place on the 
Charles River, on the 20th of June, 1863. Hamill won 
the single-scull race, of two miles, in 18.05 1-2. The Geo. 
J. Brown won the three mile race for four-oared boats, in 
19.40, and took the prize, one hundred dollars. 

The City Regatta came off on the 4th of J.uly following, 
on the same course. The two mile race, for boys, was won 
by John Tyler, Jr., in 18.18. The single-scull race was 
won by Hamill, in 15.05. The double scull race was also 
won by Hamill, in the same time. The Geo. J. Brown 
won the four-oared race in 20.43. The Biglin Crew won 
the six-oared race in 20.08. 

On July 23d, Hamill and Ward pulled a five mile race 
for one thousand dollars, at Poughkeepsie. Ward won in 
42.29. Their next race was on the 28th of September, at 
the same place, for the same amount. Hamill won this 
race in 37.38. 

On October 28th, Gil. Ward and William Stevens pull- 
ed a five mile race for a purse of four hundred dollars, at 
Poughkeepsie. Stevens won the race in 39.53. 

On July 4th, 1864, the next Boston Citty Regatta took 
place. J. H. Radford took the first prize for single sculls ; 
distance two miles ; time 20.02 1-2. The C. B. H. won 
the double-scull race, same distance, in 19.08. The four- 
oared race boat, McClellan, won the first prize in her 
<jlass, over a three mile course, in 25.30. The P. L. 
Tucker won the six-oared race, same distance, in 22.04. 
On the 19th of this month, Hamill and Ward rowed 
the ^'rubber'' match, at Pittsburgh, over a five mile course, 
for one thousand dollars. Hamill won the race in 40.46. 

The Citizens of Worcester gave a Regatta on the 30th 



70 ' ROWING MODERN. 

of July. J. H. Radford won the single-scull race, of two 
miles, in 16.36. The four-oared race was three miles^ 
and was won by the Geo. J. Brown, in 21. The six-oared race 
was won by the Biglin Crew, in 19.08. 

On August 17th, the Geo. J. Brown, of New York, and 
Twilight, of Pittsburgh, both four-oared boats, were match- 
ed in a five mile race, for one thousand dollars a side. The 
Brown won, in 33.30. 

^ On the 9th of November, Biglin and Hayes pulled a five 
mile mile race ofi" Staten Island, for one thousand dol- 
lars. Biglin won the race, in 41.12. 

On July 4th, 1865, the Annual City Regatta took place 
on the Charles River. The single-scull race, two miles, was 
won by James Hamill, in 16.28 1-2. The four-oared race, 
six-miles, was won by the Biglin Crew, in 43.32. On the 
same day the Boston Regatta come off, and nearly all the 
races were contested by the same parties as in the above 
regatta. The single-scull race, of two miles, was won by 
Hamill, in 16.28 1-2. The race for four-oared boats, was; 
contested by the Sam. Collyer, of New York, rowed by the 
Biglin brothers, and the Geo. B. McClellan, rowed by two 
men from St. John, New Brunswick, and two men from 
Boston. The distance was six miles, and the prize, four 
hundred dollars. The Collyer won the race handsomely. 

The Milwaukee Regatta took place this year, on July 4th,, 
over a three mile course. The race was for six-oared boats, 
and was contested by the Dwight Keyes, the Kinnickinnick 
and the Waucoma. The Keyes and Waucoma were outrigger 
barges, the Kinnickinnick being a lapstreak skeleton. The 
Keyes won the race easily in 18.15. The 18th of July wit- 
nessed the race between the Sam Collyer, of New York, rowed 



ROWING MODERN. 71 

by the Biglin brothers and Lear3% and the Floyd T. Field, 
of Poughkeepsie, rowed by Stevens, Burger, Beneway and 
Wooden, for a purse of six thousand dollars. The race, al- 
though it attracted an immense crowd, was not so close as 
might have been expected, the Collyer's crew winning by a 
good lead, in 31.10. 

The next Regatta of importance was that of the Citizen's, 
of Worcester. Josh Ward won the single-scull race, and 
seventy-five dollars. The four-oared race was three miles, 
and was won by the McClellan, of Boston. Yale and Har- 
vard contested the six-oared race, for two hundred dollars, 
Yale winning. 

Several very interesting races took place at inervals 
during the rest of this season, the most notable of 
which was that between the two four-oared shells, New York 
of New York, and Robert Earl, of Newburgh. The race was 
five miles, and came off at Sing Sing, on the Hudson, for a 
purse of two thousand dollars. The New York was rowed 
by two of the Biglins, Blue, and Eckerson. The Earl was 
rowed by the four Ward brothers. Josh, Gil, Henry, and 
Charley. The Ward brothers won in 33.05. The New 
York's time was 33.47. 

On September 25th, the Pittsburgh Regatta took place. 
The four-oared race was for seven hundred dollars, and 
was contested by the New York, manned by the same 
crew as in the above race, and the Friendship, of Pitts- 
burgh, rowed by the two Hamill's, Jackson and Wolf. 
The race was five miles, and was won by the Friendship, in 
32.26. The New York came home in 32.21. This was a 
very exciting and pretty race. 

On July 4th, 1866, we find the Boston City Regatta 



72 ROWING MODERN 

recorded. Tlie single scull race, of two miles, was won 
by Walter Brown, in 17.10. The douMe scull race and 
one hundred dollars, was won bj the J. Andrew, in 
27.49- The Thetis won the four-oared race, and one hun- 
dred and twenty-five dollars, three miles, in 20. 39. The six- 
oar race and one hundred and fifty dollars was won by the 
Una, of Portland, Maine, rowed by Walter Brown, stroke, and 
five others, in 20.41. 

On the 10th of July, Gril Ward and John McKiel pulled 
a single scull match over a five mile course, at Sing Sing, New 
York, for two hundred and fifty dollars. This was won by 
McKiel, in 41.00. 

Citizen's Regatta, at Worcester, Massachusetts, on July 
27th, the single scull race, two miles was between Walter 
Brown and Josh Ward. Brown won in 15.15. Ward's 
time 15.53. The four-oared race was won by the Frank 
Queen, Walter Brown, stroke, and three others, in 19.41. 
The P. L. Tucker, manned by the Biglin crew, came in sec- 
ond, in 20.10. The third race was for the Championship of 
Worcester, three miles, for four-oared boats. The Quinsiga- 
mond and the Union contested this race, which was won by 
the former, in 21.04. 

On the 21st of July, a match race between the Friendship 
and New York, came ofi* at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for a 
purse of eight hundred dollars. The course was five miles, 
with one turn. The New York won the race, in 34.24. 

August 18th, the second race took place between these 
boats, over the same course, for one thousand dollars, but 
the boats fouled, and the race was decided a draw. 

On the 5th of September, Fearon, of Yonkers, and Wal- 
dron, pulled a five mile, single scull match, for two hundred 



ROWING MODERN. 73 

dollars, which was won by Fearon, 43.37. On the 18th of 
September, Walter Brown and Josh Ward pulled their 
great three mile race, for two thousand dollars, in the 
Harbor of Portland, Maine. The race was very close, 
and was won by Brown, in 22.30, Josh coming home in 
22.34 1-2. Then, on the 9th of this month, the City of San 
Francisco, away off on the Pacific seaboard, inaugurated its 
first Regatta. The single scull race was two miles, and was 
contested by four boats. The Unknown was the winner, in 
18.25. The race for four-oared boats was threemiles, and 
was contested by four boats, and won by the Union, in 24.00 ; 
the Kearsarge being second, in 26.00. 

The Springfield Regatta took place on September 20th. ' The 
six-oared race was won by the J. W. Dickinson, three miles, 
in 20 18 ; prize two hundred dollars. The single scull shell race 
was two miles, and was won by Josh Ward, in 15.59; 
McKiel was second, in 16.03. The race for four-oared 
boats, was won by the J. A. Harding, of St. John, New Bruns- 
wick, in 21.08 1-4. The fourth race was a handicap, with 
an allowance of eleven seconds per oar. The Dickinson won 
in 19.11 1-4. 

In November, two most important sculling matches took 
place. The first race was between McGrady and Biglin, 
over the Elysian Field Course, of five miles, for a purse of 
five hundred dollars, and was won by Biglin, in 39.40. 

The other race was at Poughkeepsie, between Gril Ward 
and Stevens, five miles, for three hundred dollars. Stevens 
won, by three lengths, in 38.39. 

This closed the racing season for this year, and this is, 
perhaps, a fitting time to close this rather short summary 
of Boat Racing, from the time of its introduction into the 



74 AMERICAN COLLEGE KACES. 

country, down to the year 1867. From 1865 to 1871, a 
great many new Boat Clubs have been formed in all sec- 
tions of the country, of whose races nothing will be said 
here, but this department will be closed, with a brief history 
of our College Boat Clubs and Races. 

The foregoing history is not nearly so voluminous as it 
might have been made, but will convey an idea of the 
gradual growth and development of the Rowing interest in 
America, up to three years ago. The leading contests, 
since that date, are sketched in another portion of this 
Book. 



» 4» > 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 



HARVARD AND YALE. 

The Annual Contest between the selected Crews of Har- 
vard and Yale Colleges, is an event to which the Students, 
the Alumni, the friends of both, and people, generally, in 
New England, look forward with keen interest. Since the 
first University Race, the interest has steadily increased, 
and these annual displays of college muscle are to the col- 
legians and their friends, what the Annual Fair of their 
Agricultural Society is to the farmers of New England. 
The Race is talked of from early in the fall until it occurs, 
in the July following. 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 75 

The men who are to represent these old Educational Insti- 
tutions once selected, the greater part of their spare time 
for eight or ten months, is spent in training vigorously for 
the annual bout. People not versed in such matters, can 
have but a faint idea of the severe and thorough training 
which these picked crews submit to, for the sake of renown. 
They are supported, and urged, and cheered, by their fellow 
students and numerous friends, but the task must, at times, 
be harder than their studies. As the time draws nigh for 
the contest, their efforts are redoubled, and they are as good 
specimens of pluck and muscle, when they at last pronounce 
themselves ready, as can be found anywhere. This period 
is always welcomed by the students, who can then throw 
aside their studies and commence their vacation, with regatta 
week, at Worcester, the close of which finds them on their 
way home, exultant o'er the victory, or sorrowful o'er the 
defeat, of their much praised or badly abused six. Collegi- 
ans may be divided into three classes : The first is compos- 
ed of the reserved and thoughtful, who devote their whole 
time to study, and allow themselves no physical training 
whatever. Those who are interested in sports and pastimes, 
and train their bodily, as well as mental powers, form the 
second. And the third is made up of those who go to col- 
lege, as they go everywhere else, to have a good time, and 
who dabble in physical and mental exercises, and indulgences, 
without caring whether they learn or not — and to whom the 
incorrigible dullards are an appendix. 

The first are graduated with crammed heads and tremend- 
ous phrenological bumps, but have the weakest of all weak 
physical organizations. The second class come out with 
strong and healthy bodies and brains, and the third class 



76 AMERICAN COLLEGE EACES. 

with fragments of all sorts of knowledge, and an uncontrol- 
able desire to see more of their father's money, which seems 
to be the sum* total of their ambition. The kind of develop- 
ment which training for races gives the rowing students, 
may, or may not be just what skilled physiologists desire to 
see — but certainly they stand high ^in their classes, and are 
graduated in a thoroughly sound condition of mind and 
body. 

The careful observer in Worcester, to-day can readily per- 
ceive the three classes of students above mentioned. They 
are all here. The Freshmen were glad to throw aside the 
Greek and Roman Antiquities, their French Elocution and 
Ethics, and come hither. 

The ** Sophs." readily forgot their Rhetoric, Geometry, 
History of Greece, Botany, Chemistry and German. The 
Juniors rejoice at an opportunity to avoid Natural Philoso- 
phy and Latin Exercises ; and, the Seniors, just graduated, 
feel dignified, and patronize the young Freshmen with a 
suavity, which the latter may well imitate three or four years 
hence. Here, also, are the law students, who have been 
considering the various branches of common law, equity, ad- 
miralty, commercial, international and constitutional law ; 
or, if commercially inclined, the law of agencies, partner- 
ships, insurance, shipping, etc., etc., in books whose covers, 
according to Charles Dickens, resemble underdone piecrust, 
if they resemble anything. Even the divinity student, 
whose mind is wrapped up in matters theological, and who may, 
perchance, like many another young minister, budded or 
budding, have in preparation a criticism on some one of the 
old theologians (who read the Bible in every known lan- 
guage in which it was ever published, and gave to the 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 77 

world, in compact shape, the result of years of research and 
hard labor), which is destined to draw forth applause from 
some village church or lyceum, has temporarily stopped the 
dreamy reveries wherein he exults in advance, over the en- 
thusiasm which the boobies who are to hear his essay, will 
eagerly award him, is here, though he seems downcast and 
melancholy, as if he were encouraging something which 
ought not to be. But he is interested in the result, and re- 
mains, seeking the company of the medical and scientific 
students, who are, or should be, more sedate than the high- 
spirited undergraduates. The Faculty is well represented, 
the Professors are on hand, and it is seen that the Professor 
of Greek, who has always here and everywhere been as re- 
served as a hermit, has, for the nonce, broken his classic 
shell, and seems wholly engaged in discussing the respective 
merits of the crews. Every gentleman seems to have had 
one of those invitations which read : ' * Your company with 
ladies is respectfully solicited," as each is accompanied by 
an almost unlimited number of ladies. 



THE RACE. 



Punctually, at the appointed time, the Sophomore Crew 
of Harvard, appeared upon the the Course, the first race be- 
ing between the Sophomores of Yale and Harvard. 



78 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

The prize was a National Flag, of silk, upon a staff sur- 
mounted with a gilt eagle, and a. triangular blue silk flag, 
one side bearing date, ''Worcester, July 29th, 1864,'^ and 
the reverse, " College Regatta — Sophomore.'' 

The Harvards had been training for about eight weeks, 
and were "well up,'' with an average weight of 134 lbs. The 
Yale boys did not appear until the signal was given. The 
Crews were as follows : — 

Harvards—- 1866. 

Fred. C. Field, (Stroke.) S. A. B. Abbott, 

Ed. V. Wilkinson, Ed. H. Clark, 

Wm. Blaikie, Chas. H. McBurney, (Bow.) 

Costume — White shirts and handkerchiefs, trimmed with 
red. 

Yale— 1866. 

C. Ptosevelt, (Stroke.) L. D. Bulkley, 

A. B. Herrick, C. F. Bacon, 

J. Pierson, C. F. Brown, (Bow.) 

Costume — White shirts, trimmed with blue, and blue silk 
handkerchiefs. 

The course was a mile and a half and return. The Um- 
pires for both races were : Harvard — Richard H. Darby. 
Yale — Wm. Wood. Gr. W. Bentley, of Worcester, Re- 
feree. 

At 4.13, the word " Go !" was given, Harvard having 
the outside. Yale started off with about forty-one strokes 
the minute, and appeared to gain on every stroke. As long 
as the boats were in sight of the Judge's seat, Yale appear- 
ed to lead. Harvard, when a long way up the course, 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 79 

stopped for a few seconds to fix their cushions, but soon 
went ahead again. On the return, Harvard was leading, 
and came home easy victors, pulling their long stroke. The 
time was : Harvard's, 19.05. Yale, 20.16. 



UNIVERSITY RACE. 



The Harvard crew were supposed to be the best in the 
College. The Yale Students disparaged their crew as a bait 
for bets, stating that they had not practiced long enough, etc., 
etc. The Trainer said that they were in good condition, and 
if beaten, it would be by better men. The boats were from 
the same builder, James McKay, of New York, and were, as 
in the Sophomore race, both Spanish Cedar shells. The 
average weight of the Harvard boys, was about 156 lbs. ; that 
of Yale 149. Harvard was out for a half hour before the 
time, probably to their disadvantage. Yale did not appear 
until the signal was given. 

The distance was a mile and a half and return, and Har- 
vard was on the outside. The crews were — 

Harvard. 

H. Gr. Curtis, (Stroke,) J. Greenough, 
R. S. Peabody, E. C. Perkins, 

F. Nelson, Ed. Farnham, (Bow.) 

White shirts and red handkerchiefs. 



80 american college races. 

Yale. 

W. R. Bacon, (Stroke,) E. B. Bennet, 

M. W. Seymour, E. D. Coffin, Jr., 

L. Stozkoff, W. W. Scranton, (Bow.) 

Flesh-colored shirts and blue silk handkerchiefs. 

At the word, both boats started well together. Yale pul- 
led quick and Harvards more rapidly than the Sophs had 
done ; both boats kept well together, apparently, and did not 
deviate from the course. When the boats finally disappear- 
ed, neither side appeared to have the advantage, and the bet- 
ting was even. When the boats again came in sight, Yale 
was ahead, coming right down the course, while Harvard ap- 
peared to have gone off to one side. Thundering cheers 
arose on every side as the victors came to the goal. The 
Yale boat came in handsomely ahead, winning the race and 
the championship. 

Time: Yale, 19.01. Harvard, 19.43 1-2. The Old 
Harvard, in 1860, made the distance in 13.53. 



CARNIVAL OF COLLEGE SUCKLINGS. 



There is a story extant concerning some firemen, who 
wished to have their engine painted. The matter was con- 
sidered by them for some time, when one of them, more 
noted for his muscle than his brains, settled this question 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 81 

by saying **well boys lets have it painted any color, so 
long as its red. 

The Harvard students seem to act on this principle, as 
bushels of ribbon of all widths and shades of red disappear 
from the shop windows and appear as hat-bands, neck-ties, 
and button-hole ornaments upon the streets previous to the 
Annual Regatta. The Harvard Freshmen particularly make 
very liberal displays and wear more than all the other classes 
combined. A Harvard Freshman, generally speaking, is 
such a concentration of impudence and audacity as no other 
college or locality but Harvard and Boston vicinage can pro- 
duce. On their arrival at Worcester they register their 
names with immeasurable flourishes in some such fashion as : 
*/ Junius Augustus Fitzpatrick, Class of '71." This done, 
they immediately ask the hotel clerk how the betting is go- 
ing on the Freshmen Base Ball match, supposing that all 
Worcester is agitated on this question, and that the clerk 
was dying to impart a dozen columns or so of information. 
They become disgusted when they find that Worcester hardly 
realizes that they are to figure in Regatta week at all. The 
contrast between the Yale and Harvard Freshmen is quite 
noticeable, the former being for the most part quiet, while 
the latter are noisy and boisterous. 

A Harvard Freshman, it is said, may generally be distin- 
guished by his indiscriminate use of the word *'d n" and 

an air of aflfectation and superiority which marks the unso- 
phisticated stripling who aspires to be a man long before his 
time. 

Usually, the Freshmen and '* Sophs" amuse themselves by 

throwing bottles, tumblers, chairs and every movable missile 

out of the Bay State windows, and damaging the sash, 
6 



82 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

smashing, doors vases, and such stationary furniture, as the 
combined strength of three or four of them cannot move. 
The Annual Regatta Concert, which is always an enjoyable 
and ** recherche'' affair, over, the crowd of undeveloped boys 
hasten to the hotel ; but the presence of a squad of Police- 
men in the hall, sometimes quiets them down and calms their 
riotous spirits in a slight degree. Once in their rooms, how- 
ever, they set up a prolonged howl, which echoes through 
the hotel, and brings to their senses hundreds of quiet peo- 
ple who have long before gone off in sweet repose. The quan- 
tity of beans thrown out of the window, as a general thing, 
indicates that Worcester people will lose their matutinal meal 
upon the following Sunday, unless their grocers procure a new 
supply of this popular food. The supply of bottles is, com- 
paratively small, but what there are, are thrown through the 
windows into the rooms of guests, with a freedom and accura- 
cy which tells with wonderful effect, and is sure to cause a 
volley of oaths from the disturbed, which would discount a 
pirate crew. 

This generally proves too dull and tame an amusement for 
some of the students, who become disgusted with its want of 
interest, and adjourn to the street, and commence knocking 
down sign-boards, door-bells, etc., on their way to a neigh- 
boring stable, where one of their favorite tricks, because the 
one by which they can ««iake the most noise and damage the 
most property, is to steal one, or, if two or three, so much 
the better, large lumber wagons, which are pulled up to the 
top of a very steep hill somewhere in the vicinity, and then 
started pell-mell, one right after the other, down the hill, at 
a fearful pace, amidst the hideous, and worse than Choc- 
taw, yells of the students. 



*. AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 83 

The wagons go careening down the hill, damaging Wor- 
cester's favorite elms, fences, flower gardens, etc., and occa- 
sionally running smack into a house, which, if the wagon 
does not go clean through it and kill all the inhabitants, 
will startle them into the belief that they *^ have awoke unto 
Judgment." 

This, and the like kind of pranks, usually leads to the ar- 
rest of some of the more prominent among the sports, and 
when this happens some funny scenes are very often pre- 
sented at the *^ arraignment." One young scapegrace, with 
the smallest of small pantaloons, and the most insignificant 
of undeveloped foreheads, accosts the Marshall in this wise : 
"See here, Mister Stick-in-the-mud, we're three hundred 
strong, and we'll wallop the feed right out of your force, 
if you don't let us go." 

Those who remain at the Bay State, and confine them- 
selves to the ** bottle and the song," enliven the weary hours 
in a manner such as a Harvard student knows how to do. 
The plaintive strains of ** Champagne Charlie," '* Mother, 
may I go and Swim," ** Kaizer, Don't you want to buy a 
Dog," **Mary had a Little Lamb," ** I wish I was a 
June Bug," etc., etc., echo and reecho through the halls 
the livelong night. . 

The rooms of the sports are a spectacle, indeed, during 
this night of debauchery. ** Gentlemen, for a night" are 
reclining in arm chairs, and chairs without arms. Boots 
and shoes are cocked recklessly on tables and stands, 
amongst wash-bowls, vases, lamps and glasses. 

Cigars are plenty, and no one takes the trouble to spit 
in the spittoon, preferring rather to spit out of the window, 
and perhaps have the satisfaction of seeing it light on some 



84 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

passer by, who, knowing the folly of attempting to get any 
satisfaction, generally contents himself by crossing to the 
opposite side of the street and performing a series of panto- 
mimes, to the intense delight of the boys from school. This 
riotous behavior of the students is a plague to those who at- 
tend the races for the purpose of enjoyment. 



HISTORY OF HARVARD ROWING. 



A good many years have elapsed since boating was first 
introduced into Harvard College, and it is doubtful if that 
venerable individual, the '' oldest inhabitant " of the Col- 
lege walls, could fix the precise date of the organization of 
the first Boat Club. 

Certainl}^ Harvard was one of the first institutions of 
learning in the country, to adopt boating as its chief and 
constant recreation, and it has cultivated, encouraged and 
nourished it, in a way worthy her great name and great 
men. \ 

It is, however, well known that as early as 1844, a boat 
was purchased by a number of the students, which had 
previously been known in the Chelsea Regattas, as the Star, 
but which was rechristened the Oneida, a name that has ever 
since been borne by one boat or other of the Harvard 
Navy. This boat was manned with eight oars, and was con- 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 85 

stantly in use, until tlie class of '58 disposed of her, retain- 
ing the name and colors. She was held by her new owners 
for about one year, and was then disposed of to an outside 
Club. 

The excellent progress which the Oneidas' were making, 
inspired their brother students in the Senior Class to attempt 
the formation of a Club. They purchased an ** eight," 
thirty-eight feet long. 

In 1845, the Freshmen bought a boat called the Undine, 
and in the next autumn a new boat was purchased by the 
class of 1847, which was forty feet long, and rowed eight 
oars. Thus, the College owned four boats in about fifteen 
months. The Oneida, up to this time, was the only one 
that knew the luxury of a sheltering roof. Before the ar- 
rival of their new boat, the Club had purchased an old boat 
house, which, after fixing up a little, was to be her home. 
The other boats of the College, the Undine, Huron and Iris, 
had always been moored near Brighton bridge. A boat- 
house was erected in 1846, eighty feet long; each club 
paid thirty dollars a year for the use of it. 

All of the Harvard boats were placed in this house, which, 
when the new boat came, was '^ filled up." The new boat 
was a six-oared gig, twenty-six feet long, with stern- 
sheets. She was much heavier and stronger than any of the 
others, and most too heavy to be called a race boat. The 
Freshmen class of 1849, bought the old boat of the Oneida 
Club. The Oneida Club built a new boat, the Atalanta. 

The first boating contest in which Harvard was engaged 
with outside boats was between their boat, the Huron, and 
a boat from Boston, called the Wave. It came ofi" over the 
Cambridge course, in 1848. An eight-oared boat was pur- 



86 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

chased, called the Ariel. The Oneida was still owned by the 
class of 1849. And the Undine was bought by a club in the 
class of 1850, after her former owners had graduated. In 
1849 there was bought by the *' class of 1851," an eight-oar- 
ed boat called the Halcyon. In the autumn of 1849, the 
Harvard boats were : Undine, eight oars ; Ariel, six oars ; 
Halcyon, eight oars ; Oneida, eight oars. There was also a 
small pair-oar named the Viola. 

There was quite an excitement in 1847, over the great 
race to take place between the Oneida and Undine, over 
the Cambridge Course, in which the Oneida won hand- 
somely. 

A race also took place between the Oneida and Huron, in 
which the Oneida also won. In 1849 and 1850, the clubs 
just named were in excelent condition. 

When the Undine crew graduated, they sold their boat to 
a Boston Club. The Ariel crew were disbanded, and their 
boat was sold to some parties in East Cambridge. The 
Halcyon Club continued to flourish until they graduated, 
when they sold their boat to a Yale crew. From 1851 to 
1854, the Oneida was the only occupant of the Harvard 
boat-house. But between these years occurred the first row- 
ing match with Yale College, at Centre Harbor, on Lake 
Winnipiseogee, August 3d, 1852. 

Harvard had the Oneida crew, Yale the Shawmut, 
Undine, and the Atalanta. * In the first match, in the morn- 
ing, the Oneida won, and in the afternoon she came in first, 
likewise, and received as a prize, the black-walnut oars, 
which are now in Harvard Hall, among many other trophies. 

After the class of 1853 had graduated, they sold their 
boat and boat-house, to the next lower class of '54 and '55. In 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 87 

1854, an eight-oared boat was built for the class of 1856, 
called the Iris. A floating boat-house was made for their 
Club, and stationed near where the boat-house now is, but 
it went to pieces, and the Club bought one-half of the 
Oneida's house. 

In 1855, the Oneida was bought by a class of Freshmen 
of 1858, and the Iris was sold to the class of the next year, 
who changed her name to Huron. 

In the spring of 1858, the Iris Club purchased a new 
boat, forty feet long. In the spring of 1856, there was 
rowed at Springfield, on the 21st of July, the second race 
between Yale and Harvard. The prize was an elegant sett 
of colors. The time allowed was eleven seconds per oar. 
There were entered four boats — Iris and **Y. Y." from 
Harvard, and the Nereid and Nautilus, from Yale, The 
Iris came home first, in 22 minutes; '*Y. Y." second; 
Neried third ; Nautilus last. 

'The success with which the " Y. Y." was managed by the 
bow-oar, influenced most of the crews to steer their boats 
without coxswains. A change of ownership in the Iris and 
Oneida caused the name of the latter to be changed to that 
of Minnehaha. The * * Y. Y. , " the Undine and the Huron, 
were also'^sold to other classes in the College, the name of 
the Huron being changed to that of the Lotus. The Theo- 
logical students soon after procured a six, which they dub- 
bed the Orion. 

Two new boats, a six and an eight, were built this same 
year, for the Oneida and Huron clubs. ' But the ''loud- 
est " event in the history of this eventful year, at Harvard 
College, was the race at Boston, on the 4th of July, in 
which the "Harvard," built at St. John, by Coyle, and 



88 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

carrying eight oars, won the second prize. The following 
spring the Minnehaha was sold, and the club purchased a 
new six, the Camilla. During the spring and summer of 
1857, there were two important races engaged in by the 
Harvard Clubs. The first was the Huron, against the 
Volante, of Boston, for a suit of colors: The race was 
won by the Volante. 

In June, in the Regatta on the Charles River, the 
*' Harvard'' eight was beaten by the Union, of Boston, 
six, because of having to allow time. The following fall, 
the old Harvard, which could not be entered to advantage 
in the contests, was sold to the students of Columbia Col- 
lege, N. Y., and a new light ''six" procured. 

In June, 1858, at the second Charles River Regatta, 
the new boat won the three-mile race in nineteen minutes 
and twenty-two seconds. 

In July 1859, the first College Union Regatta was held on 
Lake Quinsigamond, in which were entered the Avon and 
Harvard, from Harvard ; the Yale from Yale ; and the At- 
alanta, from Brown University. The Atalanta and Avon 
were lapstreaks ; the Yale and Harvard being shells. 

The distance was a mile and a half and return. The Har- 
vard came home the winner by about five lengths. The 
Yale was second ; the Avon coming next, and the Atalanta 
bringing up the rear. Harvard's time was 19.18; Yale 
20.18; Avon 21.13; Atalanta 24.40. 

The next day the Citizen's Regatta took place, and the 
Harvard and Yale were the only boats putting in an ap- 
pearance, although the Avon and Huron had both been pre- 
viously entered. The race was quite exciting from the 
first. Harvard showing a little ahead at the start, but Yale 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 89 

managing to creep up and turn tlie stake a length or two in 
advance. Yale won in 19.14. Harvard 19.16. At the 
Boston City Regatta of 1860, in the race for fours and sixes, 
tshdls, Harvard entered with three Boston boats, and won in 
18.53 1-2. At the Boston City Regatta, of 1860, in the race 
for fours and sixes, shells. Harvard entered with three Boston 
boats, and won in 18.53 1-2. On the 24th of the same month 
College Union Regatta No. 2, came off. In the first race, the 
Thetis, of the Harvard Freshmen Class, defeated with ease, 
the Griyuna, of Yale Freshman Class. In the next race, the 
Harvard Sophs, defeated those of Yale. The third and last 
race between Yale, Harvard and Brown, was won by Harvard 
in 18.53. In the Citizen's Regatta, the Harvard Freshmen 
entered the Thetis, the Yale Sophs the Thulia, and the Har- 
vard, Sophomore. A foul occurred between the Harvard 
and Yale Sophs, the Yale crew returning and the Harvards 
pulling over the course, and coming home in 19.44 1-2 ; 
Freshmen, 20.13. 

The foul was decided against Harvard, but no prize was 
awarded either boat. 

At the Harvard Regatta, in June, 1864, there was a 
race for club boats ; won by the Sophomores in 20.20. Two 
days afterwards the race was repeated, and was won by 
the same crew in 19.50. 

On the 29th of the same month, the College Regatta 
came off at Worcester. The prize was a silk flag for the 
winner of each race, and was contended for by the Harvard 
Sophomore crew and Yale Sophomore crew, and was won 
by the Harvards in 19.04. The University race then came 
off, the Yale crew taking the lead at the start and winning 
with ease. 



90 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

In the Citizens' Regatta, which followed, the Harvards 
were beaten six seconds by the Tucker, of New York. 

At the Harvard' Regatta, July 5th, 1865, four six-oared 
shells entered, and the race was won by the Junior Class, 
in 20.43 1-2. 



YALE COLLEGE ROWING. 



The students of the twin Colleges of America appear to have 
discovered an interest in boating at about the same period, 
as we read of the Yale men having purchased a boat in 
1843, which was used for one year, and then disposed of. 
In the same year, a **four" was purchased, named the 
Nautilus. She was what was then known as a Whitehall 
boat, nineteen feet long. The ** nobbiest" craft, how- 
ever, in the Yale fleet of this period, was an eight-oared 
'* dug-out," forty-two feet long and twenty-four inches 
beam, which, from her model, was styled the *' Centiped." 
The crew of this boat had a race with that of the Nauti- 
lus, which boat, in the opinion of the former crew, trim- 
med too much *'by the head," which was a fault very com- 
mon in those days, and which the crew of the Centiped 
kindly remedied on the night preceding the contest, by 
making fast a huge boulder to the after-part of the keel of 
the Nautilus, that boat, as a natural consequence, coming in 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 91 

behind. The first craft really entitled to the name of race- 
boat ever received at Yale, was a six-oared thirty-foot boat, 
purchased in 1844. 

An eight-oared barge, thirty-eight feet long, was pur- 
chased, second-handed, in 1847. She went off one night, 
in a gale, without her crew, and was cast away on Long 
Island. 

Between the years 1848 and 1851, two other boats, 
both eights, were owned by Yale ; one an old thirty-six 
feet boat, built in 1838, and the other a thirty-eight feet 
boat, built in 1837. The latter was clinker-built, of red 
cedar, and was handsomely furnished. She also was cast 
away. 

In 1851, a boat twenty feet long pulling four oars, and 
called the Phantom, was purchased and retained for one year, 
when it was disposed of in trade, with ^^boot," for the 
* ' Undine, which name now haunts every water-course in 
America. 

From 1851 to 1855, several new boats were added to the 
list already quite numerous. The first of these was a fine 
barge, pulling six oars, named the Atalanta. 

The next boat was one year old when purchased, pulled 
eight oars, and was used for three years by her owners, who 
scuttled her at their graduation, and sent her a-drift. She 
was recovered, however, by another class, and at a slight ex- 
pense, refitted for use. Two years later she cast herself upon 
the shore and went to peices. 

In 1852, a ship which had won two races respectively in 
New York and Savannah, was purchased at Yale and rechris- 
tened the Ariel. 

The year 1853 witnessed an addition of two boats to 



92 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

the Yale fleet, viz : The Thulia a six-oared bargei, and 
the Nepenthe, a thirty-five foot boat. This latter boat, one 
year after its introduction to Yale, broke loose, like so many 
of its predecessors, and placed its carcass alongside those of its 
comrades, in the grave-yard of the Yale Navy on Long Is- 
land. 

In 1853, the following boats were owned by Yale, to-wit : 
The Thulia, the Engineers, the Halcyon, and Ariel. 

The first review in which all of the above boats took part, 
more was held in 1853. In the following year, four more boats 
were added to the fleet ; two forty feet race boats, the Nau- 
tilus and the Transit, a thirty-five feet four-oared race boat, 
the Rowena, and a pleasure barge, named the Alida, thirty 
feet long. 

The fleet being now pretty large, but one addition was 
made in the next two years, which was a six-oared racing 
boat, the Nereid. 

During 1856 and 1857 several changes were made, the 
Rowena and Undine, being removed from the Navy, and the 
names of two others of the boats changed. 

In 1858, however, a sort of reaction appears to have 
taken place. 

During this year, five craft, of difi'erent dimensions and 
classes, were placed in the House. They were a clinker- 
built four-oar, without Coxswain, named Olympia ; clinker- 
built six-oar, named the Yale ; a six-oared barge, the Va- 
runa ; and the Cymothoe and Lorelei, six-oar race boats. 

The first of the '' Yale Commencement Regattas'' took 
place in 1853, and was participated in by four boats. 

The next Regatta was in 1854, in which four boats 
pulled. 



AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 93 

The Third Annual Race came off at Springfield, in July, 
1855. Five boats pulled, the course being three miles, 
with one turn, and the race was won by the Nereid. 

The Fourth Annual Race race occurred in October, 1856, 
four boats pulling, over a course somewhat less than three 
miles in length, the best time being twenty-one minutes 
and twelve seconds. 

The Regatta of 1357, brought three boats to the line 
two sixes and an eight, the course being reported as more 
than three miles, and the best time made being 22 min- 
utes and fifty-two seconds, by the Nereid. 

The first *' Inter-Collegiate " Regatta took place in New 
Hampshire, at Centre Harbor, Lake Winnipiseogee, of which 
an account is elsewhere given. 

The Second Union College Race came off in 1855, at 
Springfield. Yale entered the Nereid and the Nautilus, 
with Coxswain. 

Harvard was represented by the four-oared boat *'Y. Y.,'' 
and the Iris, the former without Coxswain. 

The race was a handicap, of eleven seconds per oar, the 
distance being three miles, with one turn, and was made in 
the following time : Iris, 22 minutes ; ''Y. Y." 22.47; 
Nereid, 24 ; Nautilus, 25 minutes. 

Yale College held her Sixth Annual Race in July, 1858, 
in which were entered the Olympia, Varuna, Nereid, Omi- 
cron, and a shell, by the Scientific Class, without Coxswain. 
The Varuna, which was also a shell, without Coxswain, 
won the first prize. 

The first race, of 1859, was between the Varuna and the 
Olympia, and was won by the Varuna. 

The first College Union Regatta between Harvard, Yale, 



94 AMERICAN COLLEGE RACES. 

Brown and Trinity, took place at Worcester, July 26th, 
1859. The following boats were entered : Six-oared shell, 
*' Harvard," by Harvard College; **Avon," six-oars, lap- 
streak, Harvard College ; Brunonia, six-oars. Brown Uni- 
versity ; ''Yale," shell, six-oar, Yale College. Harvard 
was victorious in 19.16. Yale, 20.16. 

The next day the first '' Citizen's Regatta" came off, and 
was participated in by two sixes, one from Harvard and 
one from Yale. Yale won this race in 19.14; Harvard's 
time being 19.16. 

In 1860, the Second College Union Regatta came off at 
Worcester. In the first race, the Harvard Freshmen defeat- 
ed Yale, by 19.40 1-2 to 20.20. 

On account of one of the Yale Sophs, taking sick, the 
crew were unable to pull, and so the Harvard men went 
over the course and claimed the race, making it in 20.17. 

In the University Race, Harvard, Brown and Yale all 
came into line. Harvard led off, and never went back, win- 
ning in 18.53. Yale, 19.5 1-2. Brown, 21.15. 

At the Citizen's Regatta, the following day, the Gersh 
Banker, from Newburgh, beat Yale as follows : Banker, 
18.37, Yale 19.10. The Freshmen, of Harvard and Yale, 
also brushed this day, with the following result : The Thetis, 
Harvard, taking the prize on a foul. 



Practical Row^ing. 



PRACTICAL ROWING 



To become even a passable oarsman, requires long and 
continual practice, and to become a first-class oarsman, re- 
quires, besides these, a certian amount of natural skill, to en- 
able tbe oarsman to adapt bis powers to tbe work he has in 
hand. 

This was not so much the case, a few years ago, when the 
race boats were large and roomy, being, for the most part, 
what are termed outrigger barges at the present day, but in 
the delicately constructed shells in which most all races are 
pulled now-a-days, it is absolutely necessary for a man to be 
wide awake and prompt in his movements, as a * * crab ' ' 
would be fatal to a crew under full headway, in one of these 
crafts. 

There are a, great many different theories respecting the 
correct manner of pulling an oar, as there are also a great 
many different styles of rowing; but all first-class oarsmen 
agree upon certain essential points, all of which are to be 
embodied in the directions to oarsmen about to be laid 
down. 

Tt is, of course, to be supposed, that before entering a shell 
boat to pull, that the crew have practiced sufficiently long in 
larger and heavier boats, to learn all but one thing, viz : How 



98 PRACTICAL BOWING 

to apply all their united strength, and to balance the shell at 
the same time. 

They should have learned how to feather, how to sit steady 
in the boat and pull, how to use the body, arms, and legs, 
and all the other essentials to a good style of rowing. De- 
tailed directions will now be given upon everything pertainig 
to rowing, by a practical application of which it is hoped that 
all may attain to at least a creditable profiency in the great 
international recreation of boat rowing. 

INITIATIVE. 

Before entering a boat to pull with, or as, one of a regular 
crew, the party should take some practice in a single boat ; it 
matters not particularly what style of boat is used, so that it 
be not a skiff, and is not supplied with stationary oars, as 
rowing in such a craft as this would be worse than no prac- 
tice at all. 

A common Whitehall boat, such as may be found upon all 
of our lakes and rivers, is the best boat in which to take the 
initiative step, toward becoming an accomplished oarsman. 
The party should select a good boat suited somewhat to his 
own size and length of reach, and being provided with a toler- 
ably light pair of sculls, seat himself in the middle of his boat 
— that is in the middle of the thwart, and having placed his 
feet against the stretcher, in such a manner as that, in pulling, 
his oars will just clear his knees, and having grasped the 
sculls firmly in his hands, thumb underneath, throw his 
body foward until his hands are almost even with his toes, 
then, dipping the sculls just deep enough to cover the blades, 
put all the strength into the pull, until the oars are brought 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 99 

to a right angle with the body, and the ** stroke'^ is com- 
pleted. 

After the rower has obtained sufficient practice to pull a 
good, even and tolerably regular stroke, with the body and 
^rms, he should learn to utilize the muscular power of his 
legs. In order to do this, two leather straps may be attach- 
ed to the foot-board or stretcher, into which the feet may be 
slipped, and thus enable the rower to bend his legs, without 
endangering a loss of balance. 

After this, at every additional lesson, he will learn some- 
thing new, and will shortly be ready to take his place in a 
boat with others, for 

CREW PRACTICE. 

m 

The majority of Boat's Crews in this country, are either 
fours or sixes, and the manner of practicing and training 
them is precisely the same. Race boats proper, at the pre- 
sent time, are of three kinds only : Lapstreak Skeletons, 
liVooden Shells, and Paper Shells. 

Outrigger Barges, as also gunwale-rigged boats, are often 
used for racing purposes, but they cannot properly be term- 
ed race boats, as all race boats are covered fore and aft, 
outrigged, and built only to sustain a specified weight. In 
most of the lapstreak skeletons, it is necessary to trim the 
boat, by sitting close against the opposite gunwale to that 
upon which the oar is pulled, so that if the boat was origi- 
nally perfectly balanced, it must always have an equally 
balanced crew, otherwise rocking will be the consequence. 
In wooden and paper shells, there is seldom more than enough 
room for a man to get his body into the boat ; so that 



100 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

''trimming" in a shell, means for a man to balance him- 
self perfectly, and pull '*in the boat" — that is, not to 
swing his body in a lateral direction, but fore and aft. 
Shells are generally built for certain crews, adapted es- 
pecially to the weight and reach of the men, and will, if 
perfect, balance in the water, if the oars are placed in their 
respective locks. 

To pull in the delicately constructed shells of this day, 
requires much more skill and accuracy of motion, than to 
pull in a lapstreak ; and, indeed, it is anything but a fore- 
gone conclusion that, because a man pulls well in a heavy 
boat, he will pull well in a shell, as some men can '' never " 
become sufficiently true and graceful in their movements, to 
make good pullers in a shell. 

Nevertheless, the proper way to become a good puller, is 
to practice first in a large boat, as, if one is a poor puller 
in a stiff boat, he can hardly expect to pull well in a 
sheU. 

The positions of the men in the boat will, as a matter of 
course, depend upon the kind of boat it is. If a lap- 
streak of the kind mentioned, each man should sit jam 
against the gunwale, the body very nearly straight, the head 
well up, with the eyes looking straight aft, and not out of 
the boat. The shoulders must be squared so that the chest 
will not ''drop," the body being at ease and the shoulders 
having full play. 

The body should not sway from side to side, nor should 
the arms comeback "chasing each other." The position 
of the hand upon the oar is something that requires a great 
deal of attention as, unless the hand is properly placed, 
cramped fingers will make the pulling hard work. There 



PRACTICAL PvOWING. 101 

are different notions in regard to tlie proper position of 
the hand, and perhaps most every oarsman will find out 
for himself the manner in which he can best use his hands, 
a,nd yet it may be proper to state that the hands should, in a 
majority of cases, grasp the oar about six inches apart ; and 
a great many pullers do better by elevating the thumb of 
the outside hand, as it is claimed that additional power is 
thereby gained. Whether this is, or is not the case, every 
one will be capable of judging for himself. The elbows, 
during the recover, should be thrown well forward, and 
in the pull, be brought back close to the sides. 

The time to put on the power, is when the oar is ex- 
actly parallel with the boat, and the pull should be continu- 
ous and uniform, from that time until the finish. 

One of the greatest differences of opinion among boa 
men, is upon this very subject of when the power may be 
applied to the oar with the greatest advantage ; and, as on 
account of *' other things not being equal," it is impossible 
to settle the question, every person must decide, as near as 
possible, for himself. 

But if he desires to take advice upon the subject, he had 
better follow that above given, of putting on the pressure 
just as the oar squares the waist. The reach forward is 
an important point to learn, and if not thoroughly under- 
stood, will inevitably cause a fatal mistake in the style of 
the rower. As the arms extend forward, the handle of the 
oar should weigh over the instep, but should not pass be- 
yond the toes, as when a man overreaches, he loses power, 
from having the oar enter the water at too great an angle. 
From bending so low, also, the muscles of the diaphragm 
are cramped, and respiration is impeded, so that by ove 



102 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

reaching not only is there less muscular force to apply, but 
there is also less wind to accompany the application. 

The legs should accompany the motion of the body simul- 
taneously, without any rocking motion and without any in- 
terfering with the motion of the arms. 

The arms and wrists must be straight and stiff as the^ 
blade is placed in the water, at which time it — the blade — 
should be perfectly straight, inclining neither fore nor aft,, 
as in case it inclines aft, the stroke will be a poor one, and 
if there is much speed on, will very likely cause the rower 
to slip from his seat and put the others out. On the other 
hand, if it inclines forward, a **crab" is very likely to 
result, from the fact that the inclined blade offers an ir- 
regular surface to the water, and the pressure is thus 
unequal. 

The ** recover" should be simultaneous, on the part of 
every member of the crew, and should be proportioned to 
the number of strokes pulled per minute. When what is 
termed a ** spurt" is made, that is, when the stroke is to 
be quickened, the stroke should not be shortened, but the 
recover should be more rapid. The stroke should be regu- 
lar, neither too long nor .^. too short — but suitable for the 
crew. To set and maintain a stroke that will suit a crew 
such as we generally see pulling, is a work of no small diffi- 
culty. One man has long legs, another short ; one man 
has short arms, another long. Yet the stroke must be 
uniform, and at the some time not too long for any one. 

The stroke oarsman should be a man of judgment and ex- 
perience^ and one who will not commit the grieveous error 
of setting too long a stroke, "as men, after hearing the 
short, jerking stroke, so much condemned, feel that the 



PRACTICAL BOWING, 103 

longer they make the stroke the nearer they get to perfec- 
tion. A long armed man can accommodate himself to a 
stroke within his reach, but it is an utter impossibility for 
a short armed man to pull outside of his reach. 

To be sure, the crew should be as nearly as possible com- 
posed of men of the same, or nearly the same, build, but it 
often happens, that a man selected for a crew, on account of 
his superior strength or skill, is either too short, or too long, 
and where several such men of different deficiencies are in a 
crew, it requires nice calculation on the part of the stroke 
oarsman to give the right ** card." 

An English work upon rowing published many years ago 
divided the subject into three parts for consideration ; first the 
Seat ; second, Holding the oar ; third, the Stroke. A man 
should sit well above his work in order to command it proper- 
ly. The datum for ascertaining the height at which this ad- 
vantage is obtained is the following : In a properly con- 
structed boat the thwart is placed midway between the heel- 
board and the sill of the rowlock. When a mat is added the 
man is sufficiently elevated to sit well above his oar's handle, 
and to wield it with facility. If he sits too low he will row 
with a rounded, instead of a straightened back, and incur loss 
of power. If he sits too high he will be himself un- 
steady and liable to roll ; he will also make the whole boat 
unsteady by unduly raising the centre of gravity. 

He will also alter the angle at which the oar lies over 
the gunwale toward the water ; the least inclination is the 
best. The most commendable form of rowing mat is a thick 
twilled flannel, wound several times around the thwart, quite 
flat and extending several inches beyond the space actually 
covered in sitting. It is tied by two broad tapes fastened in 



104 PRACTICAL ROWING, 

a bow, underneath the thwart and against its forward edge. 
Half the miseries of rowing men, and half their faults result 
from the maladjustment of their seats*. Thej were seldom, 
until within a few years, flat enough, nor long enough, and 
usually, the thwart itself was too low. Of late years, how- 
ever, the improvements made in the art of boat building have 
obviated most of the objections put forth ten years ago, when 
boating was in its infancy. 

FEATHEKING. 

To see a well-proportioned, well-trained boat's crew pull- 
ing at good speed, and feathering in unison, is to see a sight 
worth looking at, and one which never fails to gladden the 
heart of every true oarsman. The oar is feathered just as 
it leaves the water at the finish of the stroke. The blade 
leaves the water at an angle of about fifty degrees, and is 
feathered by a slight depression of the wrists towards the 
body. 

As to the position of the blade after it is feathered, and 
while traversing the air for a new stroke, it is best to pre- 
serve a medium between a perfectly horizontal line close to 
the water, and a great elevation above it in a long curve. 
A high toss, composed of a single straight line up to the 
point of culmination, is quite inadmissable. 

When water is rough and lumpy, or when it is thrown 
up in a mass by a strong man behind, tTiere is danger of 
catching it, if the oar is low, while recovering forward 
in a high curve, catches the wind, causes an ugly flop in 
the water, instead of the clean, unsplashing cut, and in- 
volves a certain waste of labor. 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 105 

A very gentle curve is the most commendable form, and 
as it is attained by a simple and inexpensive motion, and 
ensures safety in rough water, it is to be preferred. By a 
very slight depression of the hands, the blade is a little 
raised at the beginning of the traverse, and by a subse- 
quent check to that depression, it descends gently to the 
surface without any hang or splash. 

It is very essential that a crew be taught to feather with 
exactness and on time ; as, upon their success in feathering 
depends much of the beauty and efficacy of their style. 

Much more might be, and has been said, by different 
writers, upon the subject of feathering, but I am of opin- 
ion that if what is herein given, as the correct style of 
feathering, be put in practice, there will be no occasion to 
regret having followed it. Rowing men have different opin- 
ions upon the subject of feathering, as upon everything else 
connected with the practice of the art ; the Oxford men, 
for instance, feather quite high, while Cambridge, on the 
contrary, jUst skim the water, and although the **form'^ 
of Cambridge, or as we call it here, the *' style," has been 
even fanatically condemned, yet it vanquished that of its 
proud compeer last season. 

But whatever the *' style" of the feather, whether it be 
high, low, or medium, it should be practiced until nearly 
perfect. 

There are a great many faults committed by oarsmen, 
not only as beginners, but oftentimes, after seasons of prac- 
tice, which have been catalogued over and over again, with 
the correct manner of doing the work, much as a homoeo- 
pathic physician catalogues diseases with the appropriate 
sugar pill which is to effect the cure. 



106 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

Perhaps the following advice, in verse, may not be out of 
place here as setting forth, in a few words, the secret of 
good rowing : 

** Catch your stroke at the beginning, 

Then let legs with vigor work ; 
Little hope has he of winning 

Who his stretcher loves to shirk. 
Let your rigid arms extended 

Be as straight as pokers two ; 
And until the stroke is ended 

Pull it, without jerking through." 

CORRECTING FAULTS. 

Notwithstanding the fact that the faults of rowers have 
been so many times explained and published, there appears 
to be among many of our amateur crews so little attention 
paid to their correction, that it becomes a duty for me once 
more to expose the manner in which pullers either shirk 
purposely their share of the work, or from ignorance of the 
correct manner of rowing, expend their strength in the 
wrong way. 

Not keeping time is a grievous fault, and one very diflS- 
cult of detection. A practiced ear will generally detect a 
slight want of accord, for though the time may be seeming- 
ly very good, there is a barely perceptible difference in the 
sound produced by an oar doing its duty, from that made 
by a shirker. 

This should lead the coxswain, if there be one, and if not 
the stroke, to examine the oars himself, and by careful inspec- 
tion he cannot fail of detecting the ** loose screw." In a six 



PRACTICAL ROWING. lOT 

oar, the difficulty to a coxswain of watching a crew and cor- 
recting their faults, is almost insurmountable; and where 
there is no coxswain, and the stroke oar is captain, there are 
so many difficulties in the way as to make it utterly impossi- 
ble. 

I say that in a ** six," or even a *'four," where the work 
of detecting the faults of a crew devolves upon the stroke, it 
will be but imperfectly done, and then even, at the expense of 
other mistakes in the stroke himself, who has enough to do to 
see that his stroke is what it should be. 

By what means then is a crew to become good pullers and 
have their deficiencies pointed out to them ? Manifestly, there 
is only one way, and that is to have the trainer accompany the 
crew in another boat, or if it is a narrow river or stream on 
which the crew is pulling, he may run along the bank, the crew 
pulling slowly, so that he may be able to detect all their faults. 
If no regular trainer has been employed, the coxswain, if there 
be one, and if not some other competent party, should take his 
place. 

This plan has been regularly pursued by many of our best 
crews, and it scarcely needs a lengthy argument to convince 
any one of the benefits to be derived therefrom, or, indeed, it 
might almost be said of the absolute necessity of adopting 
some such plan. 

In England, they never think of entering an " eight " in 
a race, that has not been trained, or as they call it^ 
** coached," in this manner. It is true, that in many of 
our crews, every man is heart and soul in the contest, and 
not in the slightest degree disposed to ** shirk," intentional- 
ly, and yet many a man may be doing the very best he 
knows how, and then be pulling very poorly. 



108 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

Making the latter part of the stroke in air, is another 
mistake, that needs close looking after, and will often be 
found to accompany the first named. 

Round rowing is not dropping the blade at once to its 
proper depth, but describing a segment of a circle, and thus, 
having to bring the oar up out of the water to feather, by 
which the boat is dragged under and her way impeded. Do 
not row with the elbows bent, either when on the stroke or 
the feather, or both. Do not keep the elbows out too far 
from the sides, as, although some very good oarsmen commit 
this mistake, it doubtless in them merely looks bad, but there 
is generally less force applied to the oar in that way than by 
keeping the elbows close. 

Looking at the oar, or at any other object out of the boat, 
should be sedulously avoided, as this leads to uneven swing- 
ing, and often causes the catching of crabs, which is the very 
thing that many suppose they will avoid by watching their 
oar. After a certain amount of practice, there will be no 
difficulty in keeping '' eyes in the boat,'^ and at the same time 
keeping perfect stroke. 

The twisting of the neck, in looking out of the boat, also 
tires and cramps the muscles, as any one may satisfy himself 
by trying it, and great inconvenience and weariness is there- 
by occasioned. 

There is also another phaze of this fault which is, during 
races, the looking around at passing objects, or observing 
the course of the coxswain, or at the competitors in the 
race. The coxswain will be able to attend to his business, 
and if he is not, the crew will rather hurt, than benefit their 
'Chances, by paying any attention to what he is doing. 

Dropping the head down between the shoulders so that 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 109 

the chin rests upon the breast, is one of the most serious, as 
it is also about the most universal and constant, of the mis. 
takes made by inexperienced oarsmen. This alFects the work 
of the rower in a variety of ways, the first of which is, 
that it greatly impedes his respiration, and shortens his 
wind, without which his muscle will be of little avail. 

In the next place, he is liable, from having his head de- 
pressed and eyes lowered, to neglect the proper ST^ing, 
thereby rocking the boat. Again, the neck is as liable to 
become cramped and stifi*, by having the head in this posi- 
tion, as in the one above spoken of. By keeping the head 
well up, and the back straight, but not stiff, there is no 
loss of wind, and all the strength expended is on the oar. 
Keeping one shoulder elevated above the other, makes un- 
even and tiresome work. Catching the water with un- 
straightened arms, has slackened tension as its consequence ; 
thus time may be kept, but not stroke, keeping stroke al- 
ways implying uniformity of work. 

The blade should be covered, up to the shoulder, and 
the manner of dipping the oar should be carefully watched 
by the instructor or coxswain, as in attempting to avoid one 
extreme there is likelihood of rushing into the other ; that 
is to say, that in making sure that they cover the blade, 
many pullers immerse the shank. Doubling forward, and 
bending over the oar at the feather, bringing the body up 
to the handle, and not the handle up to the body — in other 
words, meeting the oar, is a mistake (?) very common to 
lazy pullers or shirkers, and only requires detection to se- 
cure correction. Keeping both the wrists convex, is also 
a serious mistake, as the outside wrist should invariably be 
flat to ensure a fair *' take." Care should be taken not ot 



110 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

strike the water at an obtuse angle — rowing the first 
part in the air. The feather should not be commenced 
too soon and then shivered, by bringing the blade into 
Sk plane with the water, while there is yet time for work ; 
thus the oar might leave the water in perfect time, and 
yet not keep stroke. This has been designated as one 
of the most subtle tricks in rowing, and is one of the 
principal ones involved in the science of shirking. 

Turning the elbows at the feather, instead of bringing 
them sharp past the flanks, is another mistake, which is 
generally unintentional, and makes heavy work of it for the 
puller. 

Slackening the arms prematurely, and cutting short the 
end of the stroke, is perhaps not so common as some of the 
other faults mentioned, and yet a sharp eye should be 
kept to see that they do not fall into this style of pulling. 

Another very annoying thing in pulling, is to see a man 
throwing water instead of turning it well aft off the lower an- 
gle of the blade. 

A wave caused in this way is extremely annoying to the 
oar next aft ; there should be no wash or wave of any des- 
cription traveling astern, but an eddy containing two cir- 
cling swirls. 

These, it is to be recollected, are faults to be often found 
in men who have pulled for years, on their '* own hook,'' 
and flatter themselves that they are veterans at the oar. 
So they may be, in one sense, but it will require a deal of 
attention on the part of the instructor, to make a perfect 
oarsman out of one who has pulled entirely after his own 
notions, without any one to guide him in his work. 

However, if a man really has the ''stuff" in him to be- 



PRACTICAL ROWING. Ill 

€ome a good puller, he will amply repay the little care that 
will be necessary to correct the faults in his style. 

THE COXSWAIN. 

When a crew are about to take to their boat for prac- 
tice, the Coxswain, or stroke, as the case may be, will hold 
the after part of the boat, while the bow oar holds the bow. 
The men then take their places in regular order, on the 
call of the Captain, and when all is ready, the Captain orders 
two men to shove off ; which being done, the crew lay on 
their oars, while the Captain repeats the orders which he is 
going to give, and the manner of executing them. 

The men being warned by an order, bend forward to take, 
and at the word, all give way together ; the stroke oar 
setting the stroke, and all the bodies, and all the men, 
swinging fore and aft together, the Coxswain, if there be 
one, remaining in a perfectly erect posture, without bobbing 
or bending bis body with the crew, as is often done by in- 
experienced steersmen. 

Although there may not have been too much said upon 
the subject of a crew pulling together, there has certainly 
been too little said about the Coxswain's work, and the 
manner in which it is usually performed. 

We are rapidly approaching the time when Coxswains 
will be tmknown in American races, other than barge races, 
and then, indeed, the ** best crew" may win, which is not 
by any means, always the case, in the present system. It 
is but poor satisfaction to see a well built, well trained crew 
** sent off" on a course with good cause to hope for suc- 
cess, puUing as well as men ever pulled, and then have some 



112 PRACTICAL ROWING. / 

miserable baulk on the part of tlie coxswain destroy every 
chance of success. 

And yet any person who has ever witnessed many races^ 
is no stranger to such a sight. It is therefore important 
that until such time as coxswains shall be entirely abolish- 
ed, there should be some rules laid down for their guidance, 
which may tend to assist them, to some extent, however 
slight. 

In a race, the coxswain has everything in his own hands,, 
and if he is either incompetent, from want of experience in 
steering a boat, or is timid and uncertain in his line of 
procedure, the most disastrous consequences are likely to 
result. The latter characteristic in the coxswain of an 
American boat, in a late international contest, turned 
what might have been a glorious victory, into a glorious 
defeat; and should serve as an example for the future, to 
all crews who intend entrusting their fortunes to the hands 
of a coxswain. He should have a ' * clear eye and a steady 
hand," as the two indispensable requisites which go to make 
up a good coxswain ; as oftentimes the course is made con- 
siderably longer than it need be, by certain nervous pulls at 
the rudder strings, which coxswains, in the heat and excite- 
ment of a race, are very apt to give, in the absence of any 
other means by which to ** help along" (?) the boat. 

He should also be as light as possible, as the dead-weight 
in the boat should be reduced to the fewest possible 
pounds. This, however, should, as a matter of course, be 
a secondary consideration to procuring a person with good 
judgment and experience, for, although some of the cham- 
pion professional crews in England have employed boys of 
tender years, for coxswains, in some of their most important 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 113 

and sharply contested races, there cannot be a doubt but 
that more way was lost to the crew, by the attention which 
the stroke oar was obliged to give to the course of the boat, 
than would have offset a few pounds more avordupois, ac- 
companied by a few additional years, placed in the cox- 
swain's seat. On the other hand, a person's age is not 
always a gauge to his endowment of brains, and very many 
men of mature years, have acted in a manner more ridicu- 
lous than infant coxswains ever did. 

The coxswain should sit square in the centre of his seat, 
perfectly erect, so as to be able to observe the manner in 
which his men do their work, as also that he may keep a 
good lookout ahead, and steer a straight course. 

The yoke-lines should be drawn perfectly tight, and wound 
once around his hands, so that the slightest pull on either 
one will change the course of the boat in the desired di- 
rection. 

The mistaken mode of having a slack line generally 
causes a much stronger pull to be made than is required, 
which will then require a counter pull on the other side, 
and so there is often a continual jerking of the lines which 
makes hard work for the pullers. His body should be per- 
fectly erect, but in an easy position. He should get what 
purchase he can on the stretcher of the stroke, and 
pay a good deal of attention to keeping from rocking the 
boat himself, which coxswains very often do, without being 
corrected for it. 

In regard to the swinging of the coxswain's body, it may 
be well to allude here to the fashion of bending the body so 
far forward as that the nose almost knocks against the 
8 



114 PRACTICAL ROWING 

bottom of the boat, that is occasionally to be witnessed in 
inexperienced coxswains, whicli action many of them ac- 
company with deafening yells to their men for more 
work. 

I have seen coxswains, when the word to ''Go'^ 
was given, commence throwing their bodies towards the 
bottom of the boat, as if endeavoring to beat their brains 
out, at the same time yelling like Choctaws, in the most 
senseless manner. This is not only the most ridiculous and 
senseless style of steering that can be imagined, but it is 
also the most suicidal policy that a coxswain can pursue. 
He will, inevitably, steer a crooked course, besides rock- 
ing the boat from side to side, at every *' revolution. '' 

In making short turns, if the men pulling the outside oars 
are stronger than those pulling the inside, they may be call- 
ed upon for an extra exertion, but if they happen to be 
the lighter or weaker half of the crew, and are liable after- 
wards to be overdone, it is better to ease the other side. 
Either of these means is better than to make liberal use of 
the rudder, which impedes the progress of the boat, at the 
same time that the men are doing their utmost ; and it will 
be found in practice that a boat will round a stake or pqint of 
any kind, in less time by easing one side than by steering 
round with full force on, whilst at the same time, the strength 
of the men is husbanded 

If the crew pull in a river with a current, the coxswain 
should study the course so as to take advantage of slack water , 
if going against, or the full current if going. with it ; and this 
he must do according to his position in the race, which will 
be constantly varying in different contests and localities. 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 115 

He should never attempt to steer a boat in a race without 
having previously gone over the course a number of times, to 
familiarize himself with every object. The duties of the 
coxswain are arduous, and such as require him in the first 
place to be naturally sharp, and afterwards to cultivate his 
** Smartness" to its farthest extent. 

The relations of coxswain and crew are not the same in 
all clubs nor localities, but unless he is a very young one, 
he should generally have the control of the crew ; and it is 
his duty to correct a puller, whenever he makes a mistake in 
his work, or shows a disposition to ** soldier.'' 



WITHOUT COXSWAIN. 

Crews pulling without coxswains have duties to perform of 
a somewhat different nature from those who carry a man 
to do their steering ; and, although they have more labor 
to perform, they are freed from the incumberance of a 
*' worse than useless coxswain." 

It was a grand step forward, when an American crew 
first resolved to "paddle their own canoe," and leave cox- 
swains to those who were unable to do without them. It 
was a glorious triumph when an American crew crossed the 
briny deep and launched their craft upon the bosom of the 
Seine, resolved to demonstrate the practicability of their sys- 
tem. It was a triumph over the sneers and jibes of English 
boating men, who were jubilant over the prospect of defeat- 
ing them before the world, and thus to rebuke the audacity 
that had prompted them to abolish as worse than use- 



116 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

less" what they contended, and still *'do" contend, is an in- 
dispensable requisite to a well pulled race. 

But the practice they had taken warranted them in going 
the distance they did, and the cheerfulness and confidence 
they maintained from first to last, wag fully proved in the 
race to have good foundation. 

Their sarcastic laughter as they pulled up the home 
stretch, must have sounded like a death knell to the 
haughty and obstinate oarsmen, upon whom the tables were 
now turned, and who, instead of * ' rebuking ' ' the Ameri- 
cans, were themselves reminded that others besides English- 
men may understand something of the art of rowing. 

Although coxswains had been dispensed with, by many 
crews, for a considerable time, prior to the Paris Regatta, 
they were still made use of in many cases of clubs, which, 
though they conceded the steering with a *^ traveler " to be 
the more scientific mode of the the two, were yet undecided 
as to the expediency of adopting it in their own case ; fear- 
ful that too great an amount of practice would be required 
to enable them to pull a creditable or successful race. 

One by one, however, the first clubs in the country 
abolished the steersman ; and the international contest, in 
1869, between Harvard and Oxford, created so much discus- 
sion upon this point, and brought out so many facts favor- 
able to the American system, that they were more strongly 
impressed than ever with the advantages of having their 
boats constructed to carry the crew only. 

The result is, that over thre^-fourths of the racing 
boats now being built are coxswainless, and we venture the 
assertion that, by two years from the present time, there 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 117 

will not be a single racing shell built for American waters 
to carry a coxswain. In regard to a race in which all other 
things are equal, and one crew carries a coxswain, and in 
the other the bow oarsman steers, *' the result,'^ says Com. 
Benj. F. Brady, ^'depends upon what kind of coxswain 
one crew has, and what kind of a bow-oarsman the other.'' 

This is the whole thing in a nutshell, and should be taken 
into consideration, by those who imagine that the mere fact 
of a crew not carrying a coxswain will ensure them victory 
over another which employs one. 

What Americans claim is, that a bow-oarsman can, with 
sufficient practice, and there are scores who have it, do his 
work at the oar and steer the boat as well. 

This is denied by most Englishmen, who assert the impos- 
sibility of a man's ''doing two things atone time," as a 
sufficient reason for understanding why one man cannot fill 
the two offices, of oarsman and steerer, while they are 
afraid to test their system with the American, by entering 
one of their boats with a ''worse than useless" against an 
American boat steered by the bow oar. 

However, they will ultimately be obliged to adopt this 
system, as, although many of their oarsmen are obstinate 
and determined to frown down foreign " innovations," there 
are many others who are liberal-minded men, disposed to 
look favorably on anything likely to advance the cause. 

The coxswainless boats are to be seen upon almost every 
boating course in America, and are doubtless familiar 
sights to every reader of this book. The bow-oarsman has 
his feet placed against a cross-piece in the bottom of the 
boat, to which are attached, one on each side, two wire 



118 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

lines, reaching aft throngli small "eyes" to ttie rudder, 
making a miniature *' walking-beam " in the boat. By a 
slight pressure upon either side, the course of the boat is 
materially changed, and any one can see, at a glance, that 
great practice is required to enable a man to sit looking 
astern and pulling in time, and as well as the others, to 
steer the boat on a straight course. 

He should always, before starting on a pull, look well at 
the course, and then, after taking some object astern as a 
guide, endeavor to keep the boat in a straight line. The 
stroke oar will regulate the speed of the boat and, when 
necessary, call upon his men for ''a little more cider." 

In using the button oars, now so common, the button of 
the oar should be kept just inside the thowle, the outside 
hand should take hold with the thumb up, while the inside 
grasps the loom just where the rounded off part joins the 
square, with the thumb underneath the oar. Let those who 
enter a boat of this kind, for the first time, not be discour- 
aged at the difficulties which beset them, but keep up 
courage, and remember that ** practice makes perfect." 

SCULLING. 

When a man pulls two oars, he is said to be pulling a 
pair of sculls, and when boats are constructed for one or 
two men each to puU a pair of oars, they are said to be 
either single or double scull boats, as the case may b(?. 

The manner of rowing with sculls is considerably different 
from that of rowing with an oar ; as in the first instance two 
paddles, one in each hand, are made use of, while, in the 



PRACTICAL ROWING 119 

latter, all the attention is paid to one oar, and all the 
strength expended on it. 

It certainly requires as much practice, if not more, to be- 
come a good sculler than to be a good rower, as the work has 
got to be done with the utmost uniformity. 

In the remarks under the head of *' Initiative," some- 
thing has been said in regard to persons desiring to enter a 
crew, practicing at the beginning, in a large boat ; and 
some limited instructions are there laid down for the manner 
of pulling. It may be well to repeat the advice there given 
as to the necessity of first practicing in a large, stiff boat, 
before attempting to pull in an outrigger. The place of the 
rower is directly in the centre of the thwart. 

He should sit perfectly straight, but not have his back 
stiff ; his feet placed firmly against the stretcher, and the 
knees elevated so as that the hands will just miss them. He 
should grasp the handles of the sculls firmly with thumbs 
underneath, and with arms perfectly straight, reach forward 
as far as his toes, and take the water with a "square" 
blade — both oars dipping simultaneously — and" when the 
oars are even with the boat, give almost a jerk, as the power 
is applied, and throw the whole weight of the body upon the 
oar, at the same time, in order to gain greater force, jam the 
feet against the stretcher, but do not rise from the seat. 

When the stroke is completed, the oars should be feather- 
ed at a medium height, by dropping the wrists, and a new 
stroke commenced. In sculling, as in rowing, there is a great 
diversity of opinion in regard to the style of stroke that 
should be pulled ; but to try and set an infallible rule upon 
this point by which to be guided at all times and places, is 



120 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

too ridiculous to merit attentioji ; and yet, one will often 
hear, perhaps, just after a race between two crews, one of 
which pulled a long, sweeping stroke, (so called) the other 
a short jerking stroke, (sp called,) such remarks as the fol- 
lowing from some, who, of course, understood all about it : 
'^ Their short stroke killed them." 

Such superlatively nonsensical remarks as the above, are 
oftentimes made by men calling themselves oarsmen, and who 
pretend to know something about boating. The folly of such 
assertions was never better illustrated than in a cable dis- 
patch two years ago announcing the result of the interuni- 
versity boat race, to which was added several gratuitous re- 
marks upon the manner in which the race was pulled ; in one 
of these it was said that the similarity of Harvard's style to 
that of Cambridge was wonderful, and that it was the same 
form pulled by Harvard that lost Cambridge the race for the 
past ten years. And yet the announcement of- last years 
contest (1870) shows that the form of Cambridge has placed 
her crew in front of Oxford. 

The *' correct '' stroke for a sculler to pull is the one that 
he can pull the best, that is, it is the one best suited in ev- 
ery way to his size and form. If he is a man with long arms 
and legs, he will certainly find that he will make better time 
with less fatigue, by pulling a long stroke than a short one, 
where as, if he be a short man with short arms and legs, he will 
pull a short stroke with much greater ease than a long one. 

The stroke by which a man can make the best time with 
the least fatigue is the one he had better pull ; and not pull 
a long one because Tom pulls a long one, nor a short one be- 
cause Dick pulls a short one. 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 121 

There is considerable knack in pulling a pair of sculls and 
keeping a straight course, and this knack has got to be found 
out before any attempt is made at pulling in a race. It con- 
sists in learning by practice to put an equal amount of power 
on each oar, which, if the boat is a good one, will be about 
all that will be necessary to keep a straight course. 



SELECTING A CREW. 

The task of selecting the men for a crew involves the 
necessity of a pretty thorough acquaintance with some 
*'ology" or '* ognomy," or, at any rate, with humanity in 
its different shapes and forms. This task, if it is to be en- 
trusted to one person, should be to some one who is not 
likely to be deceived by a "mountain of flesh '^ into the 
notion that he has caught a young Hercules ; nor, on the 
other hand, that because a man is all skin and bone, and 
looks a little spare, that he must be rejected as good for 
nothing. 

A man should be stripped, in order to be thoroughly ex- 
amined, as clothes often make considerable difference in the 
appearance of men. The legs play as important an office in 
the act of rowing, as any other part of the of the frame, 
and it is important that the thighs should be examined, in 
order to be sure that they will be able to supply their full 
share of muscular force. The arms should be muscular, 
with long wrists, straight elbows, powerful and pliable 
shoulders, and more essential than all, a strong muscular 
loin. Without strong loins, all the muscular strength of the 



122 PEACTICAL BOWING. 

arms would count for nothing ; because, if the loins are weak^. 
there will be an inability to draw the oar towards the body, 
and as a natural consequence, the body goes forward and 
meets the oar, and presents that beautiful and encouraging 
(?) spectacle of a man '* meeting" his oar. 

It is almost impossible to determine what amount of 
strength any form, or any limb, is capable of putting forth 
without a trial, and of all portions of the frame the back and 
loins are the least likely to afford much information by a digi- 
tal examination. It can seldom or never be affirmed with ac- 
curacy, from merely looking at a man, that he will make a good 
oarsman ; but it can often be stated and with every degree of 
truth from simple observation, that certain men will ' ' not ' '' 
make good men in a boat. 

A tall, somewhat sloucliy or clumsy, high shouldered man 
will generally be gobbled for a crew, if the trainer or captain 
claps his peepers on him. In examining the thighs, a man 
should have them well developed without being loaded with 
superfluous flesh, as it would be a more promising sign by 
considerable, to find them somewhat spare, as compared to the 
rest of the body, than too heavy. 

The Lungs and Heart should be pretty thoroughly examin- 
ed ; and this although not so set down, should be the first 
ground to be looked at, as unless they are in good, healthy 
condition, it would be useless to attempt to do anything with 
the candidate ; for, although many men of weak lungs or 
heart have comparatively great muscular strength, they must 
inevitably, fall short, if required to pull a considerable dis- 
tance. The most decisive manner of determining the condi- 
tion of the respiratory organs is by a reasonable trial of them,, 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 123 

but all this lias been more elaborately treated of under tlie 
head of Professional Training. 

There is only a certain amount of strength that can be 
made available in the present style of boats, and the at- 
tributes necessary to make a successful puller in one of these 
boats, are strength, muscle, nerve and elasticity ; and any 
additional weight, after these are secured, will be so much 
dead-wood, as in the present style of boat, every additional 
pound weight buries the boat so much more. 

TRIMMING A BOAT, ETC. 

The science of balancing involves a great many principles, 
at present comprehended only by a few, whose business does 
not require them to understand all the wonders of nature 
and art. The men should be so placed ^s to keep the boat 
on her bottom, without any oscillating motion. When it is 
found necessary to trim a boat by the bow or stern, it may 
be accepted as a foregone conclusion, that if that boat comes 
in first, it will be *'in spite of fate." 

This is seldom or never the case in the shells now in use, 
as in a majority of cases, the weight and position of every 
man in the boat is previonsly furnished to the builder, and 
there is no guess work about it. 

In assigning positions to the crew the heaviest men should 
be placed at the midship oars. The lightest man should be 
at the bow-oar. 

RACE DAY. 

The morning walk, or run, should be taken, as usual, on 



124 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

the day of the race, and a light breakfast should also be 
taken. After breakfast, no more exercise until one hour 
before dinner, when a thirty-minutes' walk should be taken, 
in some shaded park or secluded spot of any kind. 

The dinner should be somewhat lighter than usual, and 
should consist of either roast beef or mutton, with light 
biscuit or dry toast ; a good drink of cool coffee, tea, or milk. 
It is sometimes the habit of a crew who have abstained from 
the use of liquor, all through their course of training, to 
take a glass of liquor of some kind, generally egged sherry, 
just previous to entering the boat ; but this course is cer- 
tainly open to condemnation, as trainers who make use of 
liquor all the time in training a crew, admit that it is not 
given with a view of producing any beneficial effect. They 
say that it undoubtedly gives '' power," which, in this coun- 
try, would probably be called *' Dutch courage " — but that, 
in very many cases, it injures the wind, and, in delicate 
stomachs, often produces nausea. 

T should, unconditionally advise a crew to make use of 
no spirituous liquors, as a drink, from first to last — from 
their first preparation to the completion of the race. 

A few minutes before entering the boat, the crew should 
be stripped, and their entire bodies, particularly the muscles 
of the arms, back, and shoulders, rubbed well with the hands, 
after which the entire body should be washed in pure alcohol, 
which should be rubbed over the body with the hands (of a 
second person) until perfectly dry. The^ racing suit may 
then be donned, and a cloak or coat of some kind made use 
of to protect the body from draughts of air. A short time 
before the racing hour, the crew should take their places in 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 125 

the boat ; and after making sure that everything is in work- 
ing order, pull leisurely up to the starting point, or if there 
is sufficient spare time, and there should be, they should make 
several brisk spurts, in order to get *' waked up" and 
ready for the contest. 

When the boats are called and lined, the crew should be 
cool, confident and collected. Nothing, at this time, will go 
farther toward crowning the efforts of the crew with success, 
than confidence in themselves ; as, if they are excited and 
nervous, they will be almost sure to make a bad start, and 
perhaps lose considerable ground. 

The whole attention should be centered upon the work in 
hand, and no thought of the crowd or the consequences of 
defeat, should be allowed to draw the mind off from the 
task now to be undertaken. 

When all is in readiness, and the crew is waiting for the 
word, they should reach forward and prepare to *'take." 
Care should be had that the oar descends into the water in 
the proper manner, and that a good **hold" is had of the. 
water, in order that the lead may not be lost. 

The stroke oar will have to judge of the amount of exer- 
tion that had best be expended to gain the lead, as, where 
great effort is made to obtain the lead, it sometimes causes, 
in the minds of those who have not pulled before in a race, 
an impression that the crew are already at the point of des- 
peration. 

The crew should manage to keep clear of all competitors^ 
in more ways than one, or at least to keep their own water, 
and draw near the stake by describing a long curve, or 
quarter circle, in order that this backing-water may be 



126 PRACTICAL ROWING. 

obviated, as nothing is worse for a boat's chances than 
to have it come sq^uare up to the stake, and then have 
. to back and pull, in order to get around it. 

If the crews are anywhere near equally matched, the one 
having the lead at the turn, will, barring accidents, be pretty 
sure to come in ahead. At the close of the race, dry clothes 
should be put on, and if fatigue is experienced, a glass of 
sherry and water ought to be taken. 

KEEPING STROKE. 

This consists in the crew imitating the exact stroke set by 
the stroke oar ; by pulling exactly as long, and dipping as 
deep. 

It is in not being able to keep stroke that the shirker or 
*' incompetent "is detected. He may keep almost, or quite 
perfect time, but stroke cannot be kept without doing honest 
work. 

Although the loss of stroke is not as unpleasant to hear as 
the loss of time, it is certainly as fatal to the progress of the 
boat, or rather more so ; because the variable ending of the 
stroke is of more consequence than the want of time in be- 
ginning it, or rather in feathering, which is the process by 
which time is marked. 

The speed of the boat depends upon the men swinging 
and ''pulling" at the same moment, to nearly the same de- 
gree and in the same direction. 

This pulling as one man, is the only means by which a crew 
can hope to win, as a light crew pulling in concert, will in- 
variably defeat a stronger and heavier one pulling an imper- 
fect stroke. 



PRACTICAL ROWING. 127 



BACKING WATER. 



Backing water, or ^* stern all," as it is sometimes desig- 
nated, is effected by the oar being held in the same posi- 
tion as in the *^holdw;ater " and pushed — in the opposite 
direction to that of rowing — through the water and pulled 
through the air. 

At leaving the water, the blade should be well 
feathered, care being taken not to dip too deep ; to re- 
turn in time, and to maintain the same length of stroke. 
All the work should be done aft the thwart, without at- 
tempting to lean back past the perpendicular. 

This maneuver is a very pretty one, and is made use of 
only in preparatory action or reviews. 

KEEPING TIME. 

This consists in the whole crew's feathering and recover- 
ing simultaneously ; and it has been said that it may be 
carried out to a tolerably full extent by a crew, some of 
whom are accomplished shirkers, while the others are 
"''honest." That this is the case, scarcely any oarsman 
will care to deny, and a great many certainly cannot. 

RESTING. 

Resting or "easing,' as it is called in England, is a stop 
made by the whole crew exactly at the same time, at the 
word of the captain, when the oars should not be wholly re- 
covered from the feather, but allowed to remain half way be- 



128 PRACTICAIr ROWING. 

tween the horizontal and the perpendicular, and at right an- 
gles to the boat, so that as soon as the way is a little off, 
they may lie flat on the water and thus prevent any rocking 
for want of a perfect balance. * 

Under the head of Amateur Training, it has been advised 
that practicing crews should take occasional momentary rests, 
for the purpose of refreshing the men and correcting any 
faults that may have been committed. 

This course will be found to work advantageously if tried, 
for many reasons known to every person who has ever pulled 
in a boat, and therefore not necessary to repeat here. 



HOLDING WATER. 

This is an expedient made use of to stop the boat suddenly. 
It is accomplished by all the crew, at the command of the 
coxswain, or captain, dropping the blades of their oars into 
the water. The rate of speed at which the boat is going 
should regulate the distance that the blade, is dropped into the 
water ; the arms being held straight, while the inside 
hand is placed firmly upon the loom, to guard against a 
crab which is pretty sure to be made, unless the arms are 
straight. In the shell boats, this is a very difficult ma- 
neuver to execute, while they are under good speed, and, 
fortunately, not very necessary, unless where some object 
is suddenly encountered, which it is impossible otherwise 
to avoid, or in racing, where the crew adopt this means of 
turning the stake. Where a crew calculate to turn a 
stake in a race in this manner,* they should practice a great 



PRACTICAL ROWINa. 129 

deal at first, and a boat has often been assisted round the 
stake by the stroke oar taking hold of the buoy or boat, 
with his hand although this is generally against the rule. 

TURNING A STAKE. 

Different ideas are entertained among different oarsmen 
and captains of crews in regard to the best manner of turning a 
stake, but a few trials will usually show the way in which the 
best time can be made. 

To be sure, the great object of a crew is to be, if possible, 
first at the stake, and to most people, the shortest way of 
reaching the stake would seem to be by keeping the boat in a 
direct line from the starting point. 

Although this plan is followed by a great many first class 
crews, it is not the proper way of doing it, as the boats' pro- 
gress is checked to a wonderful extent by this manner of turn- 
ing. 

The proper way for a steersman to do, is to make his boat 
describe a quarter circle from the home to the out stake. He 
should attain the outside of this curve gradually, by letting 
the inside oars pull a little stronger than the outside. It 
will be necessary to use the rudder but a very little. 

A special advantage of this manner of turning the stake is, 
that the heavy work is more nearly equalized than in the 
other. In this way the inside oars have to do a little the 
heaviest pulling from the home to the out-stake, but in turn- 
ing, the outside oars will have considerably the hardest work. 
If the boat rounds the stake on the proper curve, and the 
starboard and port oars each do their work properly, the rud- 
der need not be used at all. In taking a direct line from the 
9 



130 PRACTICAL ROWING 

home to the out, and then ' ' hacking and pulling ' ' around, the 
hoat comes to a dead stop, and is fairly dragged around 
by the outside oars. In the way advised, of describing a 
quarter circle, although it seems like losing ground, it is real- 
ly a considerable gain, and if executed properly, the boat 
will go round on the jump. 



THE SLIDE STROKE. 

The many improvements that are constantly being made, 
in the manner of constructing boats, and the method of 
rowing, is sufficient proof that the devotees of the art are 
increasing in number. The latest change was brought about 
by the introduction of a new seat, crossing the thwart and 
running fore and aft — parallel with the boat. This seat is 
polished perfectly smooth, and upon it the rower slides. 
The board is about sixteen inches in length, and wide 
enough for comfort, and should be well coated with grease, 
in order to insure a rapid slide. It will be necessary to 
have a pair of pantaloons especially for this work, and these 
should not be of the skimpy measurement now in style, as an 
easy and effective movement of the limbs would be impossi- 
ble in them. They should be constructed on a sufficiently 
roomy scale to allow free play to the legs, and ought not to 
be of very heavy material. A piece of chamois or buck- 
skin should be fastened on the inside of the pantaloons on 
that portion most actively engaged in the work, forming a 
second seat. The difficulty of acquiring this stroke is not 
nearly so great as may at first appear, and by a little prac- 



PEACTICAL ROWING. 131 

tice, a crew that is reasonably proficient will thoroughly 
master it. 

THE SLIDING SEAT 

Is yet another change, lately introduced, and differs from 
the former in that the seat slides with the rower, instead of 
the rower sliding on the seat. A great many prefer this 
to the slide stroke, and "vice versa." It is probable that 
these two methods will be generally adopted, but the grand 
question of time is the one by which they must establish 
their claims to superiority over the stationary seat and 
stroke. 

It has not yet been proved that any better time can be 
made with these improvements than with the old style, and 
unless there is a great saving of labor or exertion, they 
do not possess any advantages, and if the strength or 
povfer saved cannot be utilized, there is no particular bene- 
fit gained by saving it. 

If a crew can pull a boat constructed with stationary 
seats, and pulling the ''pendulum" stroke, and make as 
good time — though they do come home blown — as one with 
either of these improvements, though the latter may not be so 
tired, I cannot discover their rightful claim to superiority, as a 
'' blown " crew will recover their wind in almost no time, and 
if necessary, be ready for a fresh pull, as has often been 
proved. 



DIAGRAM OF A RACING COURSE. 



* (II II) * 



STARTING LINE. 



* (HID * 




OUT-STAKB. 



1 1-2 MILES. 



DIAGRAM OF A DOUBLE COURSE. 

TO PREVENT FOULING. 



STARTING LINE. 




I 

CO 





OUT-STAKB. 



1 1-2 MILES. 



Contributions 



ON 



KOWINa AND TRAINING, 

BY 

William Blaikie, Benj. F. Brady, 

Joshua Ward, Robt. Fulton, 

C. P. KuNHARDT, Stephen Roberts, 

Geo. R. Wright, A. McC. Duncan, 

R. E. Clemens. 



HARVARD TRAINING 

BY 

WILLIAM BLAIKIE. 



Previous to 1866, the stringent rules of the Prize Ring, 
on training, seem to have teen almost literally followed ; 
liquids and vegetables being used very sparingly, while roast 
and broiled beef and roast mutton, with dry bread, were the main 
and, indeed, almost sole nourishment of the man in training. 

Feverish blood and disposition, together often with an 
'* all-gone" feeling at the stomach, and a lean, hungry 
look, were the usual characteristic symptoms and appear- 
ance of the man so treated. 

I have known one trained in this manner, unable to 
sleep and forced to get up at midnight and bathe his head 
and neck to allay the fever ; another to pursue this course so 
far that on the day of the race, his physician prescribed his 
bed instead of his boat, he being regularly attacked by a 
fever. 

And I have seen very many become so tired of their food, 
taken, perhaps, in the fiercest heat of summer, as to perfectly 
loath it. 

But since that time the Harvard University crews have had 
a fuller and more reasonable bill of fare. Potatoes and rice 



138 HARYARD TRAINING. 

may be seen as regularly on the table as beef itself, and tlie 
vegetables of the season are allowed in moderate quantities. 
Broiled steak or ebops, potatoes in almost any style, without 
grease, bread nearly fresb, tea if desired, water, or often milk 
if prefered, oatmeal porridge or gruel, and eggs poached or 
boiled — not very hard — now render the breakfast of a Har- 
vard student in training, palatable and even attractive ; it is 
doubtful if a well cooked fresh fish, occasionally ought not to 
find its place on the table. 

The best roast beef or mutton procurable, potatoes, bread, 
cracked wheat, rice, oatmeal gruel, and the various vegtables 
in the ma rket, often, if not regularly, make the dinner in- 
viting ; and a piece of salmon or a dish of poultry or game is 
an occasional visitor, aiding to vary yet more the programme. 
Tapioca, farina and other vegetable puddings make an admir- 
able substitute for heavy puddings as a desert. Milk, water, 
and tea again, and also butter and salt, in reasonable quanti- 
ties, are permitted. 

Bread and milk, or tea, butter, oatmeal gruel, dry toast 
and crackers, are the chief and often only articles taken at 
supper. Such was the bill of fare at the Harvard table in 
1866, and it is not probable that it has changed materially 
since that time. • 

It has seiit the crew to the score, more likely to perspire 
freely and some pounds heavier in weight, than the old sys- 
tem, as well as being in better spirits and more fit to pull a 
tough, hard race. A prize fighter needs a very thin cheek, so 
that a blow on it will not close his eye, but an oarsman does 
not, and as an instance, the Oxford crew even showed a 
double chin on the day of their race with Harvard. The 
best mower in haying time is not usually the leanest, and 



HARVARD TRAINING. 139 

generally eats and drinks his fill of wliat he likes best. 

BOAT EXEECISE. 

About a half hours' careful rowing at a tolerable pace, with 
an occasional stop or " easy," for instruction and rest, seems 
about sufficient for a morning. 

In the afternoon, nearty or quite an hours' rowing, with not 
more than two or three rests will complete the days water 
work. 

The rate of speed in the afternoon should go up from thirty- 
five strokes a minute when commencing training, to racing 
gait during the last two weeks, and pulling over the proposed 
course once " on time," will be plenty of work for this last 
period. 

COACHING. 

Every stroke taken at any time should be taken '^with 
care," and no slouchy rowing ought to be allowed in the 
boat. 

In order to detect any neglect of duty, as well as for the 
general purposes of a ^' coach," the bow oarsman has hereto- 
fore attended to the drilling of his men. But this gives him 
three duties, viz : His own pulling, steering the boat, 
and watching and correcting the men, and, certainly, the 
first two of these will keep any ordinary man sufficiently 
busy. A much better plan would seem to be to have some 
judicious '' coach " or instructor in whom the crew can place 
confidence accompany them in a conveyance in which he can 



140 HARVARD TRAINING. 

keep alongside, or nearlj so, and devote his entire attention 
to detecting and remedying their faults. 

This last he should do promptly and fearlessly, and he 
will find that he can tell, to a nicety who is inclined, inten- 
tionally or otherwise, to shirk, and who are the staying 
ones. He can tell, too, whether they need more or less 
work, and guide himself accordingly. 

LAND EXERCISE. 

A three or four-mile walk, at a four-mile gait, starting, 
say, an hour after breakfast, will not, unless in extremely 
hot weather, prove too much for a vigorous young man, 
with ordinarily good legs. The speed of this walk should 
be reached gradually, and after, perhaps, if a man in the 
start is much out of condition, say two weeks slower 
going. 

A thorough rubbing of the entire body, until the skin is 
absolutely red, should ** immediately " follow each row, and 
then a dry suit should be donned. Flannel is the best ma- 
terial for it. 

SLEEP. 

Eight hours should seem a good medium. IS a man feels 
all right with a less amount than this, he should regulate his 
own hours ; but if he is nervous and excitable, he should 
have more. He should never lie abed awake in the morn- 
ing, but spring up at once, and take his sponge bath, or in 
warm weather, if convenient, a plunge into cold water. 

After each row, the Harvard men have, while hot and 



TRAINING BY JOSH WARD. 141 

perspiring, taken a dip into the river and a few strokes, 
and this plan, which would seem more agreeable than pru- 
dent, is not reported to have worked injury. 



NUMBER OF STROKES. 

Without a Coxswain, the Harvard men have gone fast- 
est, on an average of forty-four or forty-five strokes a min- 
ute, through a three-mile race. With coxswain, forty or 
forty-one seems about equivalent. 



ROWING AND TRAININa, 

BY JOSHUA WARD, CAPTAIN OF WARD CREW, EX-CHAMPION OF 

AMERICA. 



First, be sure that the men are in perfect health, so that 
they will be able to stand the work which they are about to 
commence. 

A mild medicine is usually required to cleanse the blood, as, 
unless the blood is in good order, and in very many cases it is 
in any other condition than a good one, the food taken will 



142 TRAINING BY JOSH WARD. 

not digest well. After the men are in good condition thej 
should have plenty of rowing and walking, first, short distan- 
ces to be gradually increased to what will be their *'card." 

The following is about the course of training I should ad- 
vise. Upon getting up in the morning take a sponge bath, 
dry well with a coarse towel, after which walk about two 
miles before breakfast. 

Breakfast should consist of a good tender porterhouse 
steak, broiled rare, which should be thoroughly masticated 
before swallowing. As a drink, a cup of black tea. Drinji 
no more than absolutely necessary either at meals or any other 
time. 

After breakfast, which should be eaten slowly, no exercise 
should be taken for about an hour ; at the expiration of 
which time, the crew can get in the boat and row the same 
distance expected to be rowed in the race, and at a good 
pace. 

After returning from the rovr, take a rub down with a dry 
towel, and then a moderate walk, until shortly before dinner 
time. Dinner should consist of roast beef or broiled chicken, 
with soft boiled eggs, etc. 

If any drink is taken, tea or water, in moderate quantity, 
should be used. After dinner, no exercise for about two 
hours, when the crew take the afternoon pull, which should 
be over about the same distance and at the same pace as 
that of the morning. 

After coming ashore, rub down as in the morning, with a 
coarse towel, and then take a moderate walk, returning 
home about an hour before supper, which, when eaten at 
all should be a light one, composed of a little broiled meat 
with a piece of dry toast and a cup of tea. 



TRAINING BY JOSH WARD. 143 

Two meals, at the least, should always be taken ; and 
where only two are taken, they should, in all cases, be what 
are known as breakfast and dinner, as both these meals, or 
rather either of them, are more essential to the man in 
training than supper, particularly if he, as I would advise 
him to do, rises with the sun and retires at about 9 
o'clock, or half-past, in the evening. 

After a night's sleep, and after having left the bed at 
five in the morning and walked or ran two, three, or four 
miles, as well as taking a bath, the system is generally quite 
importunate for sustenance by 7 o'clock or half-past. 

This is not always the case, however, in regard to sup- 
per ; as, after having eaten a hearty dinner, at 1 o'clock, 
without any other exercise thereafter than the afternoon row, 
a man with very little practice can accustom himself to doing 
without more food until the following morning, if he retire 
at about nine o'clock. 

Up with the sun in the morning and pursue the regular 
plan of bath, walk etc., unless stormy, in which case exercise 
indoors should be substituted for the walk. 

The dumbells and clubs are proper implements to use for 
this purpose, and every man in training, whether amateur or 
professional, should have one or other, or both. 

The man in training should always have plenty of exercise 
given him at regular and proper intervals. By plenty of ex- 
ercise I mean just enough neither too much nor too little ; and 
to be able to telljust when amanhasjust enough belongs only to 
those who have had an extensive experience in preparing 
men for aquatic or other contests. 

His habits must, of necessity, be very regular, otherwise 
the course which he is pursuing will result in very little good. 



144 TRAINING BY JOSH WARD. 

In regard to tlie oars which myself and brothers — the Ward 
Crew — generally use ; they are sweeps, about twelve feet long 
and five inches wide. A boat for our crew of four would be 
forty-six feet long, and twenty inches wide. In pulling, we 
use the legs, and in a four or six-oared boat pull forty and 
forty-two strokes per minute* In pulling a pair of sculls, I 
pull about thity-eight strokes to the minute, and use the 
legs. 

We used spoon oars, and our boats were constructed with 
the stroke on the starboard side. 

In sculling, I have always pulled open handed, but I think 
cross handed is the better style. 

To make a succesful rower great practice will be required, 
although in this, as in everything else, some learn much more 
rapidly than others. Myself and brothers were brought up 
near the Hudson, and have worked for many years upon the 
river. It was from having in early life to row as a business 
or means of livelihood, that we cultivated a taste, so to speak, 
for rowing, and also became good pullers. 

I have here upon the Hudson a fine place for rowing, and 
will be happy to undertake the care and training of any par- 
ty or parties who may so far honor me as to entrust them- 
selves to my care. 

Rowing has no equal among the recreative arts either in 
modern or ancient times. 



POINTS ON ROWING AND TRAINING, 

BY STEPHEN ROBERTS, EX-CHAMPION SCULLER O: 

AMERICA. 



It may not be altogether out of place for one who was at 
one time the champion scuUer of the United States ; who has 
been for many years actively connected with the history of 
boat-racing and boat-building, to endeavor to add a few 
points to this valuable and interesting work upon Rowing and 
Training. 

ABOUT RACING. 

When a race is to take place there should be at least four 
judges and a referee appointed by the mutual agreement of 
the parties. 

The business of the referee should be to start the boats 
which should be backed up to a line before starting. 

If, after the boats are started, the referee thinks the 
start an unfair one, he has, in my opinion, the right to call 
both boats back for a new start. 

If all parties distinctly hear the recall and one or more 
10 



146 TRAINING BY STEPHEN ROBERTS. 

refuse to return, pull over the course, and claim tlie race,, 
they shall not be entitled to any purse, prize or other stake, 
that may have been rowed for. 

Both boats should make a straight line for the stake boat 
or buoy, and any boat deviating from such a course and foul- 
ing another boat, shall be ruled out of the race or regatta. 

No boat has a right to cross the bow of another imtil she 
has a clean water lead, or at the least one full length. Un- 
less there are two diiFerent stake boats or buoys, both boats 
should turn the one way. 

When two boats are approaching a stake, the boat that has 
the lead, if by only a single foot, has the inside track and 
the other boat must either turn outside or wait, until this boat 
is far enough ahead to preclude the possibility of a foul. 

When two boats come together with the oars, it is best 
that they should free themselves as best they may and con- 
tinue the race ; but if any boat shall, after having been 
fouled in this manner, continue the contest, and being beaten, 
come home and claim a foul, they shall have no hearing. 

In order to make a legitimate claim of foul, it is necessary 
that a crew stop rowing immediately when such foul occurs, as 
a continuation of the race makes it a new one, in fact. In a 
case of a collision, the crew of either boat should not use their 
hands to shove off the other boats. A referee's decision is 
only required when the judges are equally divided, and in that 
case his decision is final : The referee should be a man post- 
ed in a aquatics and not interested in the race. 



TRAINING BY STEPHEN ROBERTS. 147 



TRAINING A CHEW. 

In training a crew for a race, the habits and mode of living 
of a man are to be consulted more than any set rules. If he 
is used to eating meat well cooked, it will not do to give him 
meat cooked rare, as this is apt to produce a looseness in his 
bowels. A man must eat according to the state of his sys- 
tem, and if he trains hard, eats meat, and is troubled with 
loose bowels, he should train light and live on toast, bread, 
and coffee or tea, for a few days, with puddings, or bread 
and milk ; and if he is used to drinking, good fresh ale will 
not hurt him, but no liquor stronger than porter or ale, 
should be used. On the other hand, if costiveness is present, 
no longer than forty-eight hours should be permitted to elapse 
without a motion, and this should be brought about, if possi- 
ble, by making use of the suitable food and drink ; such, for 
instance, as the veal steaks cooked rare, with cider or water, 
as a drink. 

The main thing, in training a man or crew, is to give 
him or them, plenty of the same kind of work performed 
in the race. Be careful, however, not to put on too much 
at first. If a mile race is to be pulled, twenty days train- 
ing will be required. 

The first day, row, say one mile ; the second and third 
day, about the same, or a little more, not too hard. After 
this, increase the distance a half mile every day, until five 
miles are gone over at each row. Then, if there are no 
blisters on the hands, row the whole distance at racing pace. 
Every other day, row eight or ten miles, up to within 



148 TRAININa BY STEPHEN ROBERTS. 

twenty-four hours of tlie race. Less rowing than this 
should not be taken ; more will not hurt. 

The time required to get a crew into good shape depends, 
somewhat, upon the nature of their business ; for instance, a 
crew composed of mechanics will not have to wait for their 
hands to become toughened, nor need they be afraid of any 
blisters appearing on their hands, to interfere with their 
pulling. Clerks, book-keepers, tape-measurers, etc., gener- 
ally require two weeks' more of training than men who have 
been always used to heavy lifting ; but, when a man once 
does get into good training, his race becomes an easy mat- 
ter for him. The writer remembers, when pulling for the 
Championship of New York, in a ten-mile race with Robert 
Martin, of Whitehall, that Martin led him for the first five 
miles, but not having been subjected to a sufficiently severe 
ordeal in training, he lost steadily from the turn, and came 
in a considerable distance behind. 

During the preparatory training, the writer had rowed 
over three hundred miles, to get into good condition. On 
such occasions as stormy mornings and the like, when it was 
impossible to row, a long walk was taken, or heavy weights 
were lifted and thrown. 



ROWING, RACING- AND TRAINING, 

AT THE UNITED STATES NAVAL ACADEMY, BY C. P. 

KUNIIARDT. 



During the late war, there was little or no time to think 
of pleasure and recreation at the Academy, and it was not 
until the year 1865, that there were any regularly organized 
Boat Clubs there. 

Under Admiral Porters' inspiring influence, after the re- 
turn of the Naval School to Annapolis from Newport, where 
it had been located for several years, two fine lapstreak out- 
riggers, named respectively, the Essex and the Lizzie, were 
procured for the use of the Cadets. They were light and 
handsome craft, thirty-five feet long and twenty-five inches 
wide amidships ; both pulled four oars apiece, and were ex- 
act mates, and were presented to the First and Second 
Classes, 

From these two Classes the crews were selected, and it 
became their duty to* undergo a system of training conform- 
able to the regulations of the Academy. Their diet was, 
of necessity, limited to that of the school at first, but was 
in time changed so as to approximate, as nearly as possible, 
to a regular course of training. Their time for practice 



150 KOWING AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 

was limited by the regulations, irf regard to study hours, 
and both crews had to struggle hard to comply with the re- 
quirements of the Academy and those of an oarsman in 
training. 

In spite of these difficulties, however, two excellent crews 
were produced, displaying an immense amount of muscle and 
activity. 

The first race took place in May, of the year 1867, the 
Second Class crew carrying off the honors, after a sharply 
contested race. The course was two miles, with one turn, 
and the names of the winners were: Drake, (Stroke) ; 
Doty, IngersoU and McLane, (Bow,) with Jasper, as cox- 
swain. The weather was fair, with but slight tide. Time, 
fourteen minutes. 

There is a great disadvantage under which midshipmen 
labor, and which no amount of practice possible to obtain 
will counterbalance. 

They take an annual cruise, leaving the Academy in June, 
and not returning again until the end of September, during 
which time, of necessity, all boating matters are laid aside, as 
no training or practice can be carried on, and the clubs are 
virtually disbanded for the time of the cruise. 

Upon their return boating is resumed and prosecuted with 
all vigor, but it is of course difficult to make up for so much 
lost time, before the cold weather sets in. So that only 
about four months out of the whole year can be made avail- 
able at the Academy for boating purposes, and as a conse- 
quence, outside clubs have a great advantage in point of prac- 
tice. Another thing to be considered is the shifting nature 
of their crews ; as one class graduates every year it's place is 
supplied by new pullers, which was at one time found so de- 



ROWING AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 151 

trimental to the rowing interests of the Academy, that boats 
were given to the third and fourth classes, so that at the pre- 
sent time, when a class enters the school, a crew is selected 
therefrom which has to contend for the aquatic honors of the 
institute for the succeeding course of four years. 

By this means, the crews of the present day have attain- 
ed to a state of high physical culture, who can, in point of 
strength and vim, be compared favorably with any crew 
that is often seen. 

A series of Annual Regattas have been established, 
which are participated in by the members of the different 
Classes, the crews competing for handsome silk flags and 
silver badges. The noble sport of Rowing is now perma- 
nently established as a part of the course, and being re- 
garded with favor by the authorities, is sure of being faith- 
fully nurtured. 

The second important race took place in the spring of 

1868, in which the former Second Class, whose names are 
given above, again carried off the honors, winning the race 
with ease, in thirteen minutes thirty seconds, over the same 
course rowed in 1867. From this time forth, more atteji- 
tion than ever was given to the sport, and new and lighter 
boats were demanded. 

A six-oared mahogany shell was ordered from Stephen 
Roberts, of New York. She was forty-eight feet long by 
twenty inches beam and was fitted for a coxswain. 

The stroke was on the port side. The victorious crew of 
the Class of 1868, with two new members, formed her com- 
pliment, but she did not enter any races until the spring of 

1869. By that time, she passed into the hands of the 
^'Decatur" Club, of the Class of 1869, and a crew was put 



152 KOWING AT THE U. S. ^. ACADEMY. 

in training to pull her, in a rather unequal contest, agains-t 
a new four-oared paper shell, built for the Class of 1870^ 
bj Messrs. Waters, Balch 6c Co., of Troy, New York. 

This latter boat was the trial boat of a number of similar 
ones that were to follow. She is a beautiful snecimen of 
racing craft, pulling four oars, without coxswain, and her 
model and finish were praised by everybody. 

The first race was a severe test of the qualities claimed for 
her, and she fully sustained them. The names of her crew 
were : W. M. Wood, (stroke,) Holiday, Hubbard, andMer- 
riman (bow,) and those of her opponent, the six-oared shell ; 
Garvin, (stroke) Osborne, Paine, BoUes, Wright and Stewart, 
(bow,) with Wilson, as coxswain. The time appointed for 
the race was May, 1869, and on account of the First Class 
graduating but a few days after that appointed for the race^ 
it could not be postponed, but was pulled despite the inclem- 
ency of the weather. It blew a regular gale, and the usu- 
ally quiet waters of the Severn were greatly agitated, sending 
great rollers in from the bay. As the ra*ce was sure to 
come off, an immense crowd lined the shores to witness the 
struggle for the Championship of the U. S. N. A. 

Both boats were prompt in taking their places at the 
starting buoy, ready for the '* Word," which was soon after 
given by Admiral Po'rter, who was present in his 
barge. 

The difference between boats and crews soon became appar- 
ent, as at the start, the paper shell fairly jumped ahead of , 
the wooden one. 

The crew of the latter, however, pulled a steady stroke 
and being to leeward, and consequently more sheltered than 
their opponents, had a slight advantage, and steadily gained 



ROWING AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 153 

until they reached the tnrn, at which point they were one 
quarter of a length ahead. 

The stake was one and a half miles from the starting point, 
and here the *' Decatur " crew were pulling forty-one strokes 
to the Nautilus (paper) thirty-nine strokes. 

The boats turned without much choice and the home- 
stretch began ; the paper boat drawing steadily ahead, and, 
at about half way home, had fairly distanced the ''six." 
They had now reached the heavy water, and in a few min- 
utes the ''Decatur" swamped; sinking with all hands in 
her. She had completely filled and broken her back, the 
crew being obliged to swim for the nearest boats. 

The paper shell gained an easy victory, arriving home in 
twenty-one minutes and sixteen seconds, having fifteen 
seconds to spare for the two extra oars of their competitors. 
The race could hardly be termed a perfectly fair one, as 
in fine weather, there is scarcely a doubt but that the pa- 
per boat would distance the wooden one. The second paper 
shell received from Messrs. Waters, Balch & Co., was a 
mate to the first one, and belongs to the Class of 1871, the 
present second class of the Academy. 

The race which came off in April last, between the two 
four-oared boats, was looked forward to with great interest 
by all hands, for many months previous. 

The Nautilus crew pulled the Quaker City Club, of Phila- 
delphia, in May, and achieved a creditable victory. 

A six-oared cedar shell was received in April, from Elliot, 
of Greenpoint. She is forty-nine feet long and eighteen 
inches wide, and combines the American and English model ; 
the sides towards her bow have considerable "flare out," 
and are brought up to a vertical position at the stem, by a 



154 ROWING AT THE 17. S. N. ACADEMY. 

very graceful curve or bend. She pulls a starboard 
stroke, and seems to be a very fast and handsome craft. 
It is intended soon to procure another six-oared sheU ; this 
one to be of paper, as they are very favorably impressed 
with the merits of this class of boats at the Academy. 

The boats at the Academy are, therefore, two four-oared 
paper shells ; two six-oared shells, besides two four-oared 
lapstreaks, all in good condition. 

The members of the clubs are all midshipmen of the vari- 
ous Classes, and are about thirty-five in number. The boats 
are all kept in a capital boat house, built under the lee of 
a large wharf, so that the water is always smooth in the 
vicinity. A number of improvements were made, however, 
during the spring ; the floor was replanked, and is now 
three feet above the water level. In front of the house is a 
long float, which rises and falls with the tide, and leading 
up from it to the boat house is an inclined plane. The 
shells can thus readily be carried down to the platform and 
then thrown into the water without touching anything. 

On returning from a pull, the crew step out, pick up 
the boat, and carry the whole thing into the boat house 
where they are capsized on horses. 

In regard to training for these races, it can only be done, 
as before stated, in the time not consumed in study and 
other important academic duties. 

Upon returning from the regular cruise, usually in Sep- 
tember, the crews set to work to get the boats in working 
order, and in a few days, regular practice begins. The 
course is pulled over once or twice a day, besides going to 
any places of interest up or down the '' Severn," to make 
the rowing consume about an hour and a half per diem, and 



KOWING AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 155 

in this way tlie few warm weeks before winter are passed. 

Exercise in the Gymnasium is also regularly maintained ; 
practicing with dumb-bells, clubs and weights, for strength, 
and exercising on both the horizontal and parallel bars for 
the development of the chest. 

This course is continued through the winter, taking care 
not to get too much of a good thing Immediately upon 
the opening of spring. Rowing is again taken up with vigor, 
and the course gone over daily. About six or eight weeks 
before the time for the regular spring races, all members go 
into strict training. They are restricted to training diet, 
and follow up, as nearly as possible, all the other require- 
ments. The crews rise at 5 o'clock A. M., and exercise, 
or take a pull until 6 A. M., then breakfast at 6.45. 
Studies are then taken up, until 12-30 o'clock. 

Exercise may then be taken until 1 o'clock, when dinner 
is taken, after which studies are resumed until 4 o'clock 
P. M. 

Between this time and six and a half P. M., the crews 
take their second pull, after which supper is served ; they 
retire at 9.30 P. M. The coxswain's orders used at the 
Academy are the following : 

*' Up-Oars." — Upon starting (say in a lapstreak.) 

'' Let-Fall." — To return to the rowlocks. 

*^ Give- Way." — Bend forward and commence pulling. 

'^Hold-Water port." ) j , . 

^ , ( ^^ turning. 

*^ Give- Way starboard. " ) 

*' Hold- Water all." — To stop the headway. 

*' Stern- All." — To back the boat instead of rowing. 

*' In-Bow."-- -To make fast. 

** Way-Enough." — Stop rowing. 



156 ROWING AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 

• / 

'' Toss." — Lift the oars in the boat. 

Racing in the Navy is not confined to the Academy alone, 
but is indulged in by our men-of-wars men, whenever oppor- 
tunity offers, in all quarters of the globe. 

Last season, there were several contests between the sail- 
ors of the United States war vessels and those of foreign 
countries, in various quarters of the globe, in most of which 
the Americans were victorious. The boats used by them 
are, however, of course, much different in shape and size, 
from the race boats used by shore clubs. 

They are usually ship's cutters, or gigs, pulling sometimes 
single, sometimes double-banked oars. A spirit of rivalry 
exists abroad, upon this subject of boat racing, and consid- 
erable pluck and muscle are always required, and often 
brought into requisition, by the different crews, to maintain 
the honor of their flag. To be satisfied that our sailors are 
superior to those of most other nations in the use of the 
oar, it is only necessary to refer to the number of victories 
achieved by United States sailors over those of France, 
England and Prussia, during the past two years, in the 
Chinese Seas. 

The last of these races occurred last fall, between a 
twelve-oared gig of the United States ship Sabine, and the 
cutters and gigs of a whole French squadron at Cherbourg, 
France. The latter had long been practicing for the trial, 
whereas, the Sabine's crew had hardly ever pulled together, 
up to the time that they received the invitation to join the 
race. The contest came off, and was viewed by multitudes 
of Frenchmen, to whose great surprise and chagrin, the 
Sabine crew distanced her numerous competitors, ^' with 
the greatest of ease." 



EOWINa AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 157 

This same crew of the Sabine were soon after beaten bj 
a crew pulling two more oars, in the United States' ship 
Franklins' gig, the contest taking place in Villa Franca, 
Italy. 



BOAT CLUBS OF THE UNITED STATES NAVAL 

ACADEMY. 



First Class, or Class of 1870.— ''Nautilus Boat Club."— 
One four-oared Paper Shell ; One four-oared Paper Shell, 
(new) ; one six-oared Cedar Shell. 

Second Class, or Class of 1871.— One four-oared Paper 
SheU. 

Third Class, or Class of 1872.— One four-oared Lap- 
streak. 

Fourth Class, or Class of 1873— One four-oared Lap- 
streak. 



ACADEMY BOAT CLUB. 

COMPOSED OF MEMBERS OF ALL CLASSES. 

One six-oared Paper Shell ; One six-oared Ce3ar Shell. 



158 ROWING AT THE U. S. N. ACADEMY. 



NAMES OF CLUB, CLASS OF 1870, ORGANIZED IN 1868. 

» 

Wood, W. M.; Hubbard, J.; Kunbardt, C. P.; Merriam,. 
G. A.; Angur, J. P. G.; Crosby, P. H.; Utlej, J H.^ 
Nye, H. C; HoUiday, ^Y. S.; Post, J. A.; Jacobs, H. M.; 
Spencer, T. S.; Dimock, M. C; Milton, J. B.; Keeler, 
J. D.; Grreene, H. L. 



MEMBERS OF CLUB, CLASS OF 1870, ORGANIXED 1868. 

A. Ward, C. D. Gralloway, F, Guertin, • F. E. Green, 
T. C. Wood. 



' MEMBERS OF CLASS OF 1872, ORGANIZED IN 1869. 

E. H. McLean, B. F. Pinehart, J. C. Fremont, Jr., J. 
H. Weinlock, N. F. James. 



MEMBERS OF CLASS OF 1873. 

C. E. Fitbian, F. W. Danner, L. Young, J. B, Gulp, 
F. A. Wilner. 



ROWING, TRAINING, ETC , ETC., OF THE HUDSON 
AMATEUR ROWING ASSOCIATION. 

BY BENJAMIN F. BRADY, PRESIDENT HUDSON AMATEUR BOAT- 
ING ASSOCIATION. 



The Hudson Amateur Rowing Association was organized 
on the 26th of November, 1866, at the Convention of Rowing 
Clubs representing the Atalanta, Waverly, Columbia, Alcyon 
and Gulick Clubs, of New York. Atlantic Club, of Hobo- 
ken, New Jersey, Hudson Club, Jersey City, Essex and Ne- 
reid Clubs, of Newark, Palisade Club, of Yonkers, and Mutual 
Club, of Albany. The object of the Association is to better 
promote the interests of Rowing, and to inaugurate and per- 
petuate a series of Annual Regattas, to be given under 
the auspices of, and to be participated in by the members. 

A Constitution, By-Laws and series of Rules, for the 
government of Regattas, was adopted, and an election for 
officers resulted in the choice of Benjamin P. Brady, of 
the Waverly Club, for President. Hamilton Wallis, of the 
Hudson Club, and D. W. Merchant, of the Mutual Club, 
Vice Presidents. Secretaries — J. McNulty, Alcyon ; Chas. 
Tate, Columbia Club. Treasurer — Theodore M. Tuthill, 
of the Atlantic Club. 



160 ROWING BY BENJ. F. BRADY. 

The first appearance of the Association in public, occur- 
red on the 29th of May, 1867, which was designated as 
the opening day of the season. 

On this occasion, a review was gone through with, thence 
a pull of about three miles up the river, ending with a 
dinner, at which about one hundred and sixty oarsmen were 
present. 

From that day, the success of the Association was assur- 
ed, and it has, from that day to this, been constantly pro- 
gressing from good to better. 



TRAINING, PvOWING, ETC. 

There has been no regularly universally adopted system 
of training amongst the different Clubs composing the Asso- 
ciation, or crews and individuals engaged in the races. In 
short, it may not be inconsistent with facts to say that there has 
not been, in the opinion of the writer, a ^'properly" trained 
crew entered thus far in any of the contests ; as the manner of 
training for a race is always left to the discretion of the indi- 
vidual, although he may be influenced to abide by the coun- 
sel of the Crew Captain. As regards habits, diet, etc., most 
all generally indulge in an early morning and evening pull 
over the course. 

As to the necessity of a '' coach" in training a crew it is 
certainly a great benefit, productive of excellent results, and is 
a feature in English rowing, Americans would do well to en- 
courage. It is a difficult, if not an impossible matter, to ex- 
plain, how a crew without a coach can be brought as near to 
a state of perfection, as a crew which employs one. 



KOWING BY BENJ. F. BRABY. 161 

Coxswains are carried in the gigs and barges only ; all the 
shells being constructed to dispense with them, and it is safe 
to predict that they will soon come to be a thing of the past,, 
in all American shell races. Whether with or without a cox- 
swain is the more practical or scientific, depends, in a great 
measure, upon the nature of the course pulled, and the effici- 
ency of the bow oar ; but an experienced crew can well get 
along without one. While the fact has been several times 
proven that a good coxswain has been the means of winning 
a race with an acknowledged inferior crew. 

COXSWAIN'S ORDERS 

Among the clubs of the Association, are given as follows : 

1st. ** Oars." — The crew raising their oars to an angle of 
forty-five degrees and then placing them in the thole pins. 

2d. ** Out" — The crew running their oars out to the pro- 
per distance for rowing, the blade being parallel with the 
gunwale of the boat. 

3d. ** Give-Way." — At the word *^ (xive " throwing 
the handle of the oar forward well over the toes. The blade 
being at a proper angle to strike the water ; and at the word 
** Way " dipping the oar in the commencement of the pull. 



4th. '' Weigh." — To stop rowing. 

I 



5th. ^* Weigh-Starboard," 

or } To turn right or left. 



** Weigh-Port. 



?> 



) 



6th. " Easy-All." — To slacken speed. 
11 



162 ROWING BY BENJ. F. BRADY. 

7th. "Oars- Apeak.'' — To salute when at rest. The oars 
to be raised perpendicularly, the handles resting on the floor, 
and the blades running fore and aft. 

8th. ''Weigh-Across," \ 

"Apeak." (To salute when under headway 
Eunning the oars across both gunwales. 

9th. "Let-Fall." — To regain former position. At the 
word "Let," raising the oar about four inches, and at the 
word "Fall," throwing it into the thole-pins, the blade 
' ' first ' ' touching the water. 

10th. " Across-Ship." — To get the oars in the boat. At 
the word " Ship," raising the oar at a distance to clear the 
heads of the crew, and dropping it lightly in the centre of the 
boat. 

11th. "Trail-Oars," — In passing through bridges, cul- 
verts, etc., unshipping the oar and trailing it at the side of 
the boat. 

12th. "Eecover-Oars." — To regain former position. 

The number of strokes pulled by the association crews it 
would be impossible to designate, with any degree of accuracy, 
as all rowers have their own peculiar styles ; and in many cases 
a man, or a crew, may start at the rate of thirty-six to the 
minute and increase to forty, and finish at, or near, thirty-two. 
In practicing a crew, a "pull," and " tire out," is certainly de- 
trimental to proper training, as a crew should "never "be 
over worked. 

The mode of dipping the oar, among the association crews, 



ROWING BY BBNJ. F. BRADY. 163 

ISj as a general rule, to immerse about one half the blade ; 

row with tbe back straight, elbows well at the sides. 

As will be seen in the constitution, the association vests its 

power in a board of delegates, composed of three members from 

each club, who in turn elect a commodore and an executive 

committee, who have full power to make all arrangements for 

Kegattas and Reviews, select judges, procure prizes, etc. 

The position of commodore has been held hj the following 

gentlemen : 

1866 and 1867, .... Benj. E. Brady. 
1868 and 1869, David Banks, Jr. 

1870, .... Benj. F. Brady. 

The Clubs composing the Association number in the aggre- 
gate about three hundred and fifty members. 



ROWING AND TRAINING, 



BY 



GEORGE R. WRIGHT, EX-PRESIDENT N. W. A. B. A. 



It is with great pleasure that I have learned of your in- 
tention to place before the public, at an early date, a Work 
on Boating, Rowing, and the Method of Training, as I have 
often felt the desire, as many others have, to possess such a 
book. In my estimation, there is no out-door sport so de- 
lightful, healthful, and possessing the same number of ad- 
vantages as the art of Rowing. There is not a muscle in the 
whole body which it does not bring into play, thereby im- 
parting strength and vigor to the entire body. There is no 
amusement in the world which affords a better test of the 
finest qualities of manhood than Rowing. 

I feel greatly complimented in being asked by you, to 
contribute a few lines towards your Work, but must confess 
that it is with some reluctance that I comply, not that I 
grudge the time or trouble, but that I appreciate my utter 
inability to write anything on this subject, which will prove 
of interest to any one, knowing, as I do, that you have 
already contributions from Messrs. Blaikie, Brady, Josh 



ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 165 

Ward, Roberts, and numbers of other men, who have been 
boating men all their lives, and are so ably qualified to 
write on that topic. Under these circumstances, it seems 
to me that it is not in the power of a Western man to add 
anything which can possibly throw any light on the subject. 
However, if any remarks from me will contribute to the 
pleasure of yourself, or any one who has the interest of 
boating at heart, I shall be delighted. 

A Work such as you are now preparing, is one which has 
been often and badly wanted for some years, particularly 
throughout the Western States, where boating is, compara- 
tively speaking, a new thing. For instance, the " Milwau- 
kee Boat Club," an organization which has existed since 
the fall of 1855, although the oldest Boat Club in the 
West, and one of the oldest in the country, even after so 
many years of experience, is to-day, far below the standard 
which they should long since have arrived at, simply because 
they have not had the benefit of the proper instruction, 
either through a Work on the subject, or from some one pro- 
ficient in the Art of Rowing. 

Notwithstanding a large number of Boat Clubs have been 
organized through our Western country, during the past 
fifteen years, I am satisfied that more interest has been 
manifested and more steady progress made in this manly 
sport, during the last three years than there was during the 
previous eight or ten. Up to the year 1866, there seemed 
to be nothing to keep organizations of this description to- 
gether. Boat clubs, although within a short distance of 
each other, were either ignorant of their close proximity, 
or lacked the "pluck" to enter the lists and measure oars 
with their neighbors of the same stripe, and as the mere ob- 



166 ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 

ject of exercise was not sufficient, in a majority of cases, to keep 
up the proper and necessary interest, the organizations, one by 
one, dropped out of existence, and either left their boats^ 
and other property to rot where they stood, or parted with 
them for a mere song, to a fresh organization which had it& 
day, and eventually followed in the footsteps of its prede- 
cessor. 

It was not until the month of October, 1867, that any 
real interest or excitement in boating matters in the West,, 
seemed to manifest itself. 

This was occasioned by a friendly race between the Mil- 
waukee Boat Club and Detroit Boat Club, which took place on 
the Detroit River, on the 3rd of October 1867. In conver- 
sation with a number of our Western boating men, during the 
last year or so, I find they are inclined to sneer or laugh 
at that little race, either on account of the style of boats 
used or the time made in the race, or, perhaps, the condition 
of the two crews, but if they will only think for a moment, 
thej will agree with me in saying that that small event did 
more towards building up the cause of Boating in the West, 
than all the interest manifested in various localities, or the 
sums of money spent on boats, previous to that time. It 
was the very next spring that, encouraged with the success 
our undertaking of the former season had met with, a few of 
the most sanguine of us undertook the organization of a boat- 
ing association, believing in the old adage, that *'in union 
there is strength" and that if it was practicable to once unite 
our boating interests, we would then have something to work 
for, and keep up our organizations, besides affording an op- 
portunity of meeting, at least once each year, and discussing 
matters of interest and giving each a chance to prove the pro- 



ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 167 

gress they might have made during the year. At first, 
to be candid, it was rather doubtful where we were to 
get the clubs from, as we then only knew of two. But 
'* where there's a will, there's a way;" and persevering, we 
finally succeeded in gathering together the fragments of a suf- 
ficient number of boat clubs to ensure our ultimate success, and 
on the 29th of October, 1868, seven organized Boat Clubs 
sent delegates to the City of Milwaukee, and then, and there, 
the first regular, and, I sincerely hope, permanent organizations 
of our Western Boating Men was formed, for the purpose of 
— as the Constitution of the Association declares — a friendly 
union of all clubs and individuals interested in the healthful 
exercise of boating, for the more effectual promotion and pro- 
tection of their rights and interests, and to give, annually, a 
Regatta, during the month of July, at such a point as should 
previously be agreed upon. The Association accomDlished 
the desired object and proved a success, and I feel certain that 
all parties who contributed, no matter at how much sacrifice 
to themselves, towards starting it, feel amply compensated for 
their labor. 

All the old Boat Clubs throughout the West were reor- 
ganized and new ones started, and the following year, 1869, 
on the 8th and 9th of July, at the City of Toledo, Ohio, 
the Northwestern Boating Association gave its first Annual 
Regatta, which was admitted by all to be the grandest aff'air 
of the kind ever witnessed in the West. It was during this 
Regatta that the question was raised whether any diff'erence 
in time should be allowed between the diff'erent classes of 
. boats (for, at that time, there were not two boats alike in 
the Association) and after considerable debate on the sub- 
ject, it was finally agreed that no difference should be allow- 



168 ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 

ed. This decision may have caused, at the time, some 
little dissatisfaction among the crews and clubs, but they 
have since seen that it was a wise one, as it forced ail 
clubs who expected to compete for prizes the next year, to 
procure first-class boats, which was demonstrated at the 2d 
Annual Kegatta of the Association, held at Detroit last 
year. 

With very few exceptions, every boat entered for those 
races was of the latest model, dispensing with the services 
of a coxswain. The Regatta at Detroit passed off splendid- 
ly, being, if possible, a grander success than the one held 
the previous season, and we have every reason to believe 
and expect that each years' meeting will exceed the last 
one, and that at no very distant day, the Northwestern 
Amateur Boating Association will be one of the strongest 
organizations in the country. 

The time made by the winning boats at the two Regattas 
held under the auspices of the Association, when compared 
with that made by some of our Eastern brethren, may per- 
haps seem to them, and to the community at large, as being 
rather *'thin,'' but time, patience and perseverance will 
overcome innumerable obstacles, and the day may soon come 
when our Western boys will crowd their rivals on the home 
stretch. 

Notwithstanding our Eastern friends have the advantage 
of us in being able to procure their shells at home, we are 
plucky enough to send down there for them, and at the 
present tim.e, every Club in the Association has at least 
two eastern built shells in their possession. \t would be a 
treat to our friend, Charles B. Elliott, if he could witness 
the large number of his beautiful shells on the water at the 



ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 169 

same time, which we have at our Regattas. It is not 
my intention to enlarge very much on training, as I 
should only prove my own ignorance on the subject, 
and prefer, therefore, to leave that to yourself, and will 
contcDt myself with making a few suggestions, which will, 
of course, be of very little interest to those who have here- 
tofore given the matter of Training any great amount of 
attention, but may be of some use to beginners throughout 
our western country. In the first place, in reference to 
boats, I should advise any Club or Crew who expect to do 
any pulling, to procure a first-class shell of the latest model, 
without coxswain. If you have no one among your number 
who understands shells, leave the dimensions of your boat en- 
tirely in the hands of the builder, and you will not lose 
anything. When you get into her for the first time, don't 
make up your minds that she must turn over with you — it 
is not at all necessary. A shell, with a crew in her, pro- 
viding the rowlocks are properly guarded (as they always 
should be, by a small wire wound round the top) may be 
swamped by a tug or steamer without turning over. The 
art of steering, by means of a traveler, is one which can only 
be learned by practical experience, but will not prove a very 
difficult matter, and with a little confidence, is soon acquired. 
The great beauty of steering in this way is to use the rudder 
as little as possible, for every time you bring it around it re- 
tards your boat. Of course, at the turn, you make use of it 
to bring the boat round, but on a straight course you can 
keep your boat on her course by cautioning the men on one 
side or the other. For instance, if she is going a little to the 
port side, caution the port side to put on a little more '^beef,'' 
or command starboard to "ease up '' a little, and in this 



170 ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 

way you bring her back without checking her speed. It 
is not necessary for the bow oarsman (who, in most cases, 
manages the traveler) when he has a straight course, to be 
constantly turning round to see where he is going to, as, if 
before starting he takes a mark on the shore in a line with 
the stake, and once gets his boat into this line, he will have 
no difficulty in keeping her all right, until he gets very near 
the turning point, when he will have to look round, in or- 
der to make as short a turn as possible. 

The true principle of trainings says an able writer on that 
subject, is '*to nourish the body as rapidly as possible, and 
at the same time get rid of the * loose ' or * soft ' flesh." 
In many instances, the training done by our Western Clubs 
has been either a perfect farce, or in the other extreme, 
has been too severe. In my opinion, an over-trained man is 
worse than one not trained at all, as he has- not the back 
bone to carry him through ;* while the latter, if plucky, will 
stick it out, although he may injure himself in doing so. 
The trouble seems to be that Clubs, notwithstanding they 
have a whole winter and spring before the Racing Season, 
which gives them time gradually to get themselves into the 
proper condition, neglect to do so until a month or six 
weeks before they are going to pull, and then expect to at- 
tain, in that short time, what will naturally require three 
times as long. / 

A fatal mistake is sometimes made in taking violent exercise 
immediately after arising, and, consequently, on an empty 
stomach. This is one of the best ways in the world to run a 
crew into the ground. A walk of three or four miles, com- 
mencing at a slow and easy gait, increasing the speed grad- 
ually, and ending with a trot for the last three quarters of a 



ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 171 

mile, is as violent exercise as should, in my opinion, ever be 
taken in the morning before breakfast, but under no circum- 
stances should they attempt to pull at that time. Neither 
should a crew be allowed to pull more than once each day 
* on time." I don't mean by this that they should only pull 
once a day, for I think they ought to have a pull in the 
morning, about an hour after breakfast, and again about five 
or six oclock (not later than seven, as the evening air is apt 
to be damp, ) and at this time they should pull over the course, 
easy the first time, and then after they are warmed up a little^ 
try it on time. The effect of pulling on time, whenever you 
get into your boat, is to wear yourself out, instead of improv- 
ing your condition. 

The most essential part of training is the perfect regulari- 
ty which should govern all one's actions. Men in training 
should always be up at six in the morning, and never out of 
bed after ten at night ; their exercise should be taken at cer- 
tain hours each day, and meal hours should be equally as 
regular. So far as the matter of food is concerned, I have 
no faith, whatever, in bringing a crew down from their accus- 
tomed diet to a certain fixed bill of fare. In selecting ma- 
terial for a crew, you are supposed to make choice of perfect- 
ly sound and healthy men, and if you have this at the start, 
I can't see how you will be likely to improve them by feed- 
ing them on ''raw meat," which, in some cases, is almost re- 
pulsive, and is taken more as a child takes castor oil, (be- 
cause it has to,) than as a refreshment. Of course, ex- 
cesses of all kinds should be avoided, but if a man is accus- 
tomed to eat well-done meat, let him do so still, and if he pre- 
fers it rare, let him have it rare. But giving the men the lib- 
erty to choose there own diet, does not include the privilege 



172 ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 

of indulging in oyster suppers, or ice cream, at 12 P. M. ; for, 
as I said before, irregularities of all kinds are to be avoided. 
Fast women, whiskey and tobacco are the three indulgences 
most difficult for a crew to break off, if the desire for them 
has once been acquired, but they are the perfectly healthy 
mans' worst enemies. No crew can ever put themselves in 
any sort of condition unless they persistently avoid each and 
every one of them, and they must see, on reflection, that no 
amount of training will benefit them one particle, so long as 
an appetite for these vices is gratified. 

If your men are in the habit of taking a glass of ale or 
porter, at dinner, each day, I should let them do so still, 
but should not recommend this to those who are not accus- 
tomed to it, for the less liquids used at a meal the better, 
as they retard digestion. If the men complain of boils, 
(which will, in most cases, make their appearance on men 
during the process of training,) don't let them quit under 
the supposition that they are injuring themselves, as these 
little ** blessings" are the best evidence in the world that 
the mode of training is a success, and that the sufferer is 
in this very way working off all impurities from his 
system. No man ever went through a course of training 
who was not favored with them at some time or other, 
and often to such an extent as to render him unfit to pull 
in a boat, in which case he would have to discontinue doing 
so for a day or so ; but, in the mean time, there are many 
other ways of taking exercise, so that he need not fall be- 
hind the balance of the crew until such time as he is able 
to resume his position. 

To train for a race, is a matter which requires a great 
deal of sacrifice and self-denial on the part of those under- 



ROWING BY G. R. WRIGHT. 17S 

taking it, and, for this reason, I regret to say, it is very 
often attempted by a crew, and after a short trial, is 
abandoned. 

Perfect discipline is absolutely necessary ; there must be 
but one ** Captain," and all the balance of the crew should 
be literally machines, subject to his control. This, every 
one who tries training must make up his mind to, before he 
becomes a candidate, and resolve to patiently submit to 
what is only reasonable. 

I admire exceedingly, the plan which has been almost uni- 
versally adopted by our more experienced Eastern boating 
men for selecting material for a crew, viz : To first make 
choice of a Captain who is supposed to be the one best 
qualified for that position, and then let him select his 
crew. 

It used to be customary here, to have a committee select 
the crew, and this plan has, in many cases, given great 
dissatisfaction, as prejudices and preferences are very apt to 
govern the selection made, instead of relative worth and 
capability. By adopting the former plan, you place the 
whole matter in the hands of one man, and hold him 
responsible for the condition and qualification of his crew — 
and he will invariably select men because he feels they 
are capable of filling the bill, and is not liable to let per- 
sonal feeling have much weight in the matter, where his 
own reputation is at stake. When a Trainer is employed, 
I do not think he should form one of the crew, as with the 
present style of shells, every one has all he can attend to 
properly, to mind his own business, without watching and cor- 
recting the movements of any one else. The Trainer should 
either ride along the bank, where he can observe and 



174 EOWING BY a. K. WRIGHT. 

warn each man of his irregularities, or, if this is not prac- 
ticable, he should row alongside in another boat. 

The principle of having a separate course laid out for 
each boat (which has been adopted by the N. W. A. B. 
Association, ) is, in my opinion, an excellent idea, as it re- 
moves all possibility of the boat's fouling, either on the 
course or at the turning point, and consequently makes it a 
very easy matter for the judges to give their decisions, and 
never renders it necessary to have a race repeated. Where 
separate courses are laid out, the course to be pulled over by 
each boat should be decided upon prior to the race, by the 
Captain or Coxswain of each boat drawing lots. 

With these few general hints, I shall conclude, and leave 
the task of laying out a course of training, in all its more 
minute details, to yourself or some one else, who has had 
more experience in the matter. 



UNDINE CLUB, EEIE.— METHOD OF TRAINING. 



BY R. E. CLEMENS, 



In the morning, running or walking exercise, for about an 
Lour, to help the wind; after which no more exercise is 
taken until evening, at which time an hour's rowing is gener- 
ally taken during regular training. 

The diet is beef steak or a roast, cooked rare, good, sweet 
bread, either brown or white, or both, and vegetables ; very 
little butter or grease of any kind ; no coffee, tea or stim- 
ulant of any description, cold water is the drink, and no 
limit is placed upon the quantity of food eaten. 

Rowing in the morning is not considered good training, as 
they find that they cannot rise from bed, and step into a boat, 
and take a long pull, without great fatigue. 

Their style, of stroke is about thirty-eight or forty to the 
minute, and employs the arms, back and legs, bracing firmly 
against the stretcher, and thowing the head back to facilitate 
respiration. 

The place for the stroke oar, in the '^Volante," is on 
the ''port'' side, in the "Minniola," starboard, in the 
shell, Port. 



• 



176 METHOD OF TRAINING BY R. E. CLEMENS. 

Coxswains are used in all of the boats, excepting the 
shell, which is traveler-rigged. 

This Club is one of the Northwestern Amateur Boating 
Association, composed, like a majority of amateur clubs of 
the United States, of business men and clerks, for whom it 
is almost impossible to go through a regular course of 
traiiiing. 

The Clab expect, however, to figure more prominently in 
the aquatic world, in the future, than they have done in 
the past. 



ROWING AND TRAINING IN GEORGIA. 



BY 



A. m'c. DUNCAN, SAVANNAH. 



With reference to the various inquiries made in jour Cir- 
cular of February, I will answer as they are propounded : 

With this I send you copies of the Rules and Regulations 
governing the three Boat Clubs in Savannah, as also a copy 
of that for the Regatta Association. 

From what I can learn, it has been seldom that the stroke 
has been upon the port side. 

Prior to the formation of the Amateur Club, in 1859, the 
oars were made of yellow pine, well seasoned, with round 
looms, and straight blades. 

In 1859, the spoon blades, with round looms, and made of 
spruce pine, were first introduced. 

Since then no other material than spruce pine is used, more 

because of the facility with which they can be obtained; 

some doubt being entertained as to their superiority over a 
12 



178 ROWING BY A. m'c. -DUNCAN. 

'' well seasoned" yellow pine straight Made. As to dimen- 
sions of oars, in length, from twelve to fourteen feet — with 
blades from six to six and a half inches wide at the tip. Only 
one set of square looms have been tried, viz : last year, and 
have been discarded since. 

No system of training has ever been fully practiced, though 
attempts to approximate to that system laid down in Stone- 
henge, have heeax irregularly and inadequately made. 

As to the style of stroke that has been generally pulled — 
a long reach forward, pulling with the back, arms stiff or 
straight, until the body passes a perpendicular. 

The average stroke is about thirty-six to thirty-eight per 
minute. , . 

The canoe boats retain their momentum, it seems, longer 
than the shells. All boats, previous to last year, have re- 
quired a coxswain, but we have with us now a boat without 
coxswain, the ''Queen," which will appear in our next Ee- 
l^^atta. 

We are anxiously seeking information upon the point, as 
to whether she should make any allowance to the boats with 
coxswains, and if an allowance is to be made, how the same 
is to be estimated, and upon what basis. 

As to the etiquette among crews meeting, I may gladly 
say, that while there has never been any set rules recognized 
or known of, the behavior of rowers is invariably marked by 
courtesy to each other. To halt and peak the oars, has 
been practiced somewhat as a salute, the coxswain lifting his 
hat. It has been sometimes the rule to peak oars, immedi- 
ately after passing the terminal buoys in a race. On the con- 
clusion of a race, it is considered a proper compliment to 
escort the winning boat to her resting place. 



ROWING BY A. m'c. DUNCAN. 179 

On the part of the crew of a boat toward its coxswain, full 
respect is maintained and a cheerful alacrity displayed in 
obedience to orders. 

Of single sculling, we have had but one opportunity of 
forming an opinion, and such an ^'impromptu " effort as was 
then made, to develop this very interesting and benefiting 
branch of the sport, could not be regarded as giving any sug- 
gestions as to the style, or other details. 



Training. 



AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL, 



TRAINING. 



INTRODUCTORY AND HISTORICAL. 

Animals, of all classes, from the fighting cock up to man, 
the highest type of the physical creation, have been, for 
centuries, systematically schooled and trained for purposes 
of rivalry in physical contests of all descriptions. 

The game cock, from having been originally a barn-yard 
fowl, has, by the system of breeding and training, been 
transformed into a feathered pugilist, the sole purpose of 
whose existence is to peck out the eyes and brains of as 
many of his own kind as possible, for the profit of his 
owner, until he himself shall pay the inexorable penalty of 
the pitcher which goes too often to the well, and is finally 
broken. The practice of bull fighting, in which one of the 
fiercest and most implacable of brutes, is pitted in a contest 
of life and death against man, is of great antiquity, and 
much time has been spent in speculating and commenting 
upon the moral eff'ects of such exhibitions as bull-fights upon 
people who engage in and encourage them. Of the moral 
lessons to be learned from such exhibitions, it is not the 



TKAINING. 183 

province of this Work to treat ; but, one fact becomes patent 
to the most prejudiced, and that is the wonderful courage, 
agility and endurance displayed by the man, who relies solely 
on his muscular strength, steady nerve and faultless 
sight. 

If there be any doubt in regard to the morality of bull- 
fighting, there is certainly none respecting that of rat and 
dog bating. A rat-pit contest, depraved and disgusting as 
it certainly is, yet furnishes another instance of the un- 
quenchable passion of men for witnessing bloody and fero- 
cious exhibitions, no matter at the expense of how much 
physical torture, provided only there is blood drawn and 
life lost or greatly imperilled. This passion for destroying 
life seems to be the cardinal one of man's nature, and one 
which doubtless he will never overcome, until the fulfilment 
of that prophecy : *' Peace on earth, good will to men." 
We are told that the civilization of to-day does not know 
the wicked institutions of the ''dark ages," but there is 
good reason to believe that there are some among us who, 
"having eyes see not, and having ears hear not;" else, 
why does the nineteenth century witness the spectacle of two 
millions of men engaged in the work of human slaughter ? 

Training, or exercise and regimen was resorted to, origin- 
ally, we have reason to believe, for the preservation of health 
among mankind and the removal of disease. Physiologists 
now know, as they have known for centuries, that the human 
body is composed of solids and liquids, which are successively 
absorbed and deposited. A continuous renovation is the con- 
sequence of this physical law, and the nature of this reno- 
vation, as a matter of course, will depend upon the nature of 
our food and general habits. 



184 TRAINING. 

i 

If this absorption and renovation is impeded, ill health en- 
sues, in obedience to the law of cause and effect, and it has 
always been found that no medicinal or other agent is so 
effectual a promoter of healthy absorption and secretion as 
exercise, judiciously taken. 

Health, strength and activity, both bodily and mental, are in- 
variably the accompaniments of a course of physical training. 
It may be said that training is not resorted to at the pre- 
sent day as a means for overcoming disease, and although I 
admit the truth of the assertion, it does not disprove my state- 
ment. 

There are two reasons why physical exercise is not resort- 
ed to by a great many persons aiHicted with disease, and those 
particularly of bilious and rheumatic natures. One is that 
although the name of the diseased is legion, the doctors of 
physic and the '^pseudo" M. D's. are, numerically speaking, 
especially the latter class, by no means insignificant, and the 
competition for trade is immense. 

The stomach of a patient, to most of that class of the com- 
munity who style themselves doctors, always acts as a medium 
by which the doctor conveys nauseous medicines into the sys- 
tem of the patient and filthy lucre into his own pocket. In a 
majority of cases, the much abused stomach presents too great 
a temptation as the vehicle for conveying benefit (?) to both 
parties to be resisted, and the patient, while being informed 
that in olden times he would have been bled (which would 
perhaps have cost him a shilling) for the same complaint from 
which he is being releived in so agreeable a manner, scarcely 
reflects that he is being '' bled '' now, although, in a different 
way, much more profusely. 

It is not politic, then, for doctors to prescribe pure air and 



TRAINING. 185 

exercise, wliich cost nothing, in preference to adulterated 
decoctions, which will serve to keep the patients' system in a 
disturbed condition, and make a profitable case for the physi- 
cian. The distaste of the pill-swallowing community of the 
present day, to the gigantic bolusses made use of by the most 
ancient of the "pathies," and their evident preference for 
medicine, in some shape, to exercise and training, as a means 
for procuring freedom from their complaints, has developed a 
new '' pathy, or school of medicine. The infinitessimal doses 
of this school are always agreeable to the palate, and are easi- 
ly taken, and are said to be infallible for cure, where cure is 
possible. 

It is no wonder then, that when immunity from disease 
can be purchased at so trifling a personal inconvenience as 
the swallowing of a few sugar pellets, a large majority of the 
community should prefer that method to physical training 
which necessitates regular hours for eating and sleeping, 
temperate habits and cleanliness. 

If one whose habits are gross can be cured of an indispo- 
sition by taking a little medicine, while at the same time 
he is permitted to gluttonize to his fullest desires, it is 
scarcely to be doubted that he will prefer taking that medi- 
cine, rather than to adopt a course of treatment which would 
require him to moderate his appetite. It is in these reflec- 
tions that we can find an explanation to the question : Why 
do not people take more pure air and bodily exercise 
and less of the doctors' medicine ? But, if mountebank 
physicians are to be accused of criminality in the manner 
above referred to, what is to be said of the thousands of 
patent medicine venders who enter into the manufacture of 
medicinal cure-all, or rather kill-all poisons, on such 



186 TRAINING. 

a gigantic scale as we s ee on every side in ail large cities ? 

The immense fortunes amassed by these traffickers in the 
misfortunes of mankind, is sufficient evidence of the scale 
upon which they carry on their nefarious business, and if 
statistics could be procured, showing the amount of what i& 
termed patent medicine that is annually consumed in the 
United States, it would present a frightful spectacle, especial- 
ly when we reflect upon what is certainly very probable^ 
to-wit : that in nine cases out of ten, these very agents which 
are given and taken as cures for disease, really produce and 
aggravate disease. Until the Government refuses to grant 
licenses to persons engaged in such enterprises, however, 
there is likely to be an increase of the traffic, rather than 
a diminution of it.. 

That portion of the community styled '* gullible '^ is a 
very large one, and any person happening to be ''out of 
sorts" that sees his or her, identical case described in .every 
paper and magazine;- — a long list of symptoms, with a fear- 
ful warning of what ** may " be the result of delay, can scarce- 
ly be blamed for snapping at the bait and purchasing just 
one bottle upon the wrapper of which he learns that from 
eight to ten bottles will be needed to effect a cure, and certifi- 
cates are attached as proof of this statement. 

It is being so continually dinned into our ears that no age 
has been so prolific as the present, in wonderful discoveries 
and inventions, that one cannot wonder much at people be- 
lieving that medicinal compounds can be prepared in vats full, 
possessing curative properties for diseases of all kinds, no mat- 
ter what the dissimilarity of circumstances that environ 
them. 

Bodily exercise in America, amongst the class of popula 



TRAINING 187 

tion which has been styled * ' well-to-do, ' ' suifers greater neglect 
than in any other country in the world. This is not by any 
means to be attributed altogether to laziness, as the "push " 
and '' snap '' of Americans is proverbial the world over; but 
the passion for wealth has become so universal and wide 
spread, pervading all classes, ages, and sexes alike, that the 
considerations of health, and it might also be said, of spiritual 
happiness, are made secondary to the attainment of riches. 
But this passion is inherent in man, and like many others, 
only requires the necessary exciting causes to develope it. 

America supplies these causes to a greater extent than 
any foreigner can imagine. Enterprises of all magnitudes are 
forever being undertaken, and to the credit of the American 
people be it said, are usually successfully accomplished. 

So far, it has been all work in this country, but every 
day brings '' spare hours " to a larger portion of the popu- 
lation, and the preachers of the doctrine, "cleanliness is next 
to Godliness." are multiply mg in our midst. Bodily and 
mental strength and vigor among the ancients seem to have 
been the stepping stone to prominence and distinction. And 
the proof of the one always lent greater force to the claims of 
the other. It is stated that Herodicus was among the first 
to apply gymnastics and other exercises to the cure of dis- 
ease, and Celsus says that Asclepiades so radically adhered 
to this doctrine of expelling disease and preserving health, 
by means of muscular exercise and regimen, as to have al- 
most entirely abolished medicinal compounds from his prac- 
tice. He advocated and invented several systems of gesta- 
tion for health, which became very popular among the 
Romans, and while still quite young, he publicly declared 
that he would renounce all claim to the title of physician^ 



188 TRAINING. 

should he ever be attacked by disease or die but of extreme 
age. This boast, rash though it was, and blasphemous, was 
fulfilled, as his death was caused by a fall in about his hun- 
dredth year. Physically, he was a type of perfect manhood, 
as well as a living example of his own system. The human 
body is a machine, which it requires more nice care to keep 
in order than any of the vast numbers subsidiary to its will 
and power, and a ''loose screw '^ in it will tell, as surely and 
as quickly as in any other. All the different parts of the 
body are in communication with each other, either directly 
or through a common medium. To keep the body in good 
condition, each seperate portion of it must be kept in a 
healthy state, and this can only be done by establishing and 
maintaining a healthy vital force, whose action will affect 
alike muscles, bones, lungs and nerves. 

Exercise, of necessity, strengthens every portion of the 
body, whether of the intellectual, locomotive, or vital system. 
In regard to the first of these, the intellectual system, Sir 
J. Sinclair observes that physical training improves the 
mental faculties, doubtless, by facilitating digestion, giving 
tone to the stomach and ready perception to the mind. That 
the locomotive system is greatly benefitted, it will require no 
argument at all to prove, as every one has evidence of this in his 
own person. The vital system must be benefitted by train- 
ing, as bottom or wind, is the main stay of the system, with- 
out which muscle would accomplish but little. 

A man in training always draws a longer breath, and can 
retain it much longer than when out of condition. 

The principles of training are not very numerous, and the 
rules are not at all difficult to follow. In the first place, the 
bowels are evacuated, by which means the stomach and intes- 



TRAINING. 189 

tines are purged of all impurities. In the second place, the 
deleterious excressences, such as boils and all humors of this 
description, are carried off by the process of sweating. In 
the third place, the daily run and gymnastic exercises improve 
the respiration, while the diet and §leep, regulated properly, 
develop and maintain the strength of the entire body. The 
art of training was known to the ancients centuries ago, and 
practiced by them to an extent that would doubtless surprise 
many of our present day progressive people, who, though they 
solemnly avow their belief in all that the Bible teaches, yet go 
so far as to doubt what Solomon says is a fact, that ''there 
is nothing new under the sun." The athleta3 of Greece, who 
contended for the honors in the public games, usually under- 
went a ten months' preparatory training. They were com- 
pelled to abstain from the use of liquor and to cease all vic- 
ious indulgences. 

The distinction and notoriety, connected with excellence 
in the exercise of the palaestra were probably the causes 
which operated to lower it from the rank of a liberal art to 
that of a degraded profession, which was embraced only by 
the lowest class of men ; the same kind as those of the pre- 
sent day, who fight for the championship of the prize ring. 
The combatants, however, then as now, were splendid speci- 
mens of physical beauty, and were regularly trained for 
their contests. 

The athletae were subjected to the evacuating process, 
which a majority of them preferred to purging, and in the 
early stages of training, their diet consisted of boiled grain, 
new cheese, and dried figs. 

After subsisting for a time upon these articles, animal food 
— most always pork, was added to them. The fact that 



190 TRAINING. 

this food was found to increase their bodily vigor, is evidenced 
by Gralen, wbo says, that if they lived but for a single day 
upon any other kind of food, their strength was manifestly 
impaired upon the day following. Modern trainers differ with 
ancient ones, to the extent of rejecting it altogether from 
their articles of diet, as experience has proved to them that it 
is almost the worst animal food they could use. But if they 
differ in regard to the character of the meat used, they agree 
as to the manner of preparing it. Roast or broiled are about 
the only ways of preparing meat for men in training, at pre- 
sent, as they were then, and unfermented bread is preferred 
to that prepared by leaven. 

Water was not allowed but in small quantities, and even 
now, many trainers restrict their men to a certain quantity 
of liquid, though this system is pernicious, and, I am happy 
to say, is fast losing ground, in favor of a more liberal and 
beneficial one. 

The principal schools of the athletae were at Capua and 
Ravenna, in Italy, places noted for the purity and healthful- 
ness of their atmospheres — as pure air was considered by 
the ancients a chief requisite of health, though modern teach- 
ers and law-makers, seem to entertain an opposite theory. 

They exercised mostly in the open air,, thereby becoming ac- 
customed to all the changes and vicissitudes of the weather, 
which soon ceased to trouble them, and also served to toughen 
their skins, a quality peculairly necessary to them, but 
which is not essential to a well-trained oarsman of the pre- 
sent day. 

Occasional flogging was also resorted to, to test their powers 
of endurance, and to enable them to bear with patience, 
bodily pain and suffering. As considerable blood was usu- 



TRAINING. 191 

ally drawn by the flogging, it generally proved beneficial hj 
removing tlie tendency to redundancy of tlie circulating fluid, 
and plethora, to vfhich tliey were subject, which proves that 
their diet was nutritious and strengthening. 

Upon the conclusion of their usual daily exercises, the 
Athletse betook themselves to the bath — always a tepid one 
— when the perspirable matter, scurf, etc., was removed by 
friction, or rubbing with an instrument denominated the 
^'strygil/' After leaving the bath, the skin was rubbed 
until it glowed, and then annointed with oil. If thirst was 
experienced, a small quantity of warm water was permitted. 
The principal meal succeeded this bath at the close of the 
day, and was succeded by a season of rest until the follow- 
ing morning. The cold bath was only resorted to occa- 
sionally, and then always in the morning. 

It was supposed that bodily vigor was greatly increased by 
sleep, and the candidate was permitted to sleep as many 
hours as he chose. The method of training among the an- 
cients was fully as strict, and, indeed, more so, than that of 
the present day, and the difference in the kind of food and 
regimen, is partly owing to the difference in climate and man- 
ner of living, but mostly to the fact that the physical 
qualities and characteristics of an ancient athlete were very 
different in nature from those of a man in training at the 
present day, for rowing or other similar contests. 

The extent to which the physical capabilities of a man 
may be developed by training is simply wonderful, and if 
only a theory would scarcely be credited, but every one 
has seen it practically demonstrated in the daring feats of pro- 
fessional gymnasts and prize fighters. It is an indisputable 
fact, that by emptying the cellular substance, extenuating the 



192 TRAINING. 

fat, hardening tlie muscniar fibre, and improving the bot- 
tom or wind, a man will be enabled to exert himself to his 
utmost for from fifty to eighty minutes, either in the ring, 
at the oar, or in a pedestrian contest. 

So much then, for the system of training practiced by 
the ancients ; now, for a short glance at the method pursued 
forty years ago in England. Captain Barclay was the 
chief authority of this period, and his teaching was followed 
by both professionals and amateurs. According to his 
method, the candidate, who was supposed to be in tolerable 
condition, entered upon his training with a regular course 
of physic, which embraced three doses. Glauber's salts was 
generally preferred, and from one ounce and a half to two 
ounces was taken each time, with an interval of four days 
between each dose. After finishing the physicing process, 
he commenced regular exercise, which was gradually in- 
creased from the primary to the latter stages of training. 
His training was mostly for pedestrianism, and he usually 
required walking and running exercise to the extent of 
twenty or twenty-four miles every day. 

The party was obliged to rise at 5 o'clock, run a half 
mile up-hill at the top of his speed, and then walk six 
miles at a moderate pace, coming in at about 7 to break- 
fast, which consisted of beefsteaks or mutton-chops under- 
done, with stale bread and old beer. 

After breakfast, he took another walk of six miles, at 
a moderate pace, and at 12, lay down without his clothes 
for a half hour. Upon getting up, he walked four miles, 
and returned by 4 o'clock to dinner, which was beef-steaks 
or mutton-chops, with bread and beer, as at breakfast. Im- 
mediately after dinner, he would run half a mile, at the top 



TRAINING. 193 

of his speed, and walk six miles at a moderate pace. This 
concluded the daily exercise, and bed was taken at about 8 
o'clock. Animal diet alone was prescribed, and beef and 
mutton were preferred ; all fat and greasy substances were 
prohibited, as likely to induce bile, and consequently injure 
the stomach. Lean meat was generally made use of, be- 
cause it contains more nourishment than fat, and fresh meat 
was preferred to salted. All spices and seasonings, with the 
exception of yinegar, were prohibited. The lean of fat beef- 
steaks, rather under-done, and accompanied with a very little 
salt, is recommended. Mutton being reckoned easy of digestion , 
was permitted occasionaly to vary the diet, and the legs of 
fowls were also esteemed. 

Broiling was the usual mode of preparing meat as the train- 
ers understood that the nutritive qualities were then better 
preserved than by roasting or boiling. Biscuit and stale 
bread were the only preparations of vegetable matter allow- 
ed, and everything likely to induce flatulency was carefully 
avoided. The quantity of aliment was not generally limited 
by the trainer, but was left to the discretion of the party 
himself, whose appetite was supposed to guide him in this re- 
spect. 

Liquor was, and is to-day, invariably made use of by English 
trainers, and old home-brewed beer taken cold was perferred. 
For those who objected to malt liquors, about one-half pint 
red wine after dinner was allowed. It was required that 
only the very smallest quantity of liquid should be made use 
of. 

After continuing this course for about four weeks, the 

party took a four-mile sweat, by running four miles in flannel 

at the top of his speed. Immediately upon returning, one 
13 



194 TRAINING. 

pint of hot liquor was taken, to promote perspiration. This 
compound embraced one ounce of caraway seed, an half 
ounce of coriander seed, one ounce of liquorice root, half 
an ounce of sugar candy, mixed with two bottles of cider, 
and boiled down to one half. He was then put to bed in 
his flannels, and being covered with six or eight pair of 
blankets and a feather bed, was allowed to remain for 
twenty-five or thirty minutes, when he was taken out and 
rubbed perfectly dry. He was then wrapt in his great coat, and 
ordered to take a two-mile walk, at a gentle pace, returning to 
breakfast, which, on such occasions, consisted of a roast 
fowl. After this he proceeded with his usual exercise. 

These sweats were continued weekly, till within a few 
days of his contest, or, in other words, he was subjected to 
three or four of these operations. If the stomach was foul, 
an emetic or two was given about a week before the conclu- 
sion of the training, and he was then supposed to be in the 
highest condition. Besides his ususal exercise, the party 
was advised and encouraged to employ himself in the in- 
tervals, in every kind of exertion that tended to activity, 
such as golf, cricket, bowling, throwing quoits, etc., so that 
during the whole day, both body and mind were constantly 
occupied. 

Great changes have taken place in the method of training 
since that time, and, indeed, within the last ten years. Al- 
though the exercise is not less severe now than then, the 
diet is much more liberal and altogether more christian in 
character. 



PRACTICAL TRAINING. 



Lifting weights and swinging clubs, * 

There's lots of that to do ; 
And pulling large and heavy boats, 

Is part of training too. 
So when you've done your morning run, 

The day wears on apace, 
And when evening comes, your rowing, 

Preparing for the race. — r. b. j. 



The subject of practical training will now be taken up, 
and its relations to different classes of individuals, fully dis- 
cussed, in order that trainers may be enabled to classify their 
men according to their physical conditions. A trainer is, 
oftentimes, called upon to take charge of and prepare for a 
race, a crew, of whose previous history and personal habits, 
he knows nothing ; and he is usually expected to put 
them in the best of condition, within the space of a few 
short weeks. It behooves a man who undertakes the care of 



196 TRAINING. 

a crew, in this manner, if lie desires to maintain his reputa- 
tion, to inquire into and ascertain, as far as possible, what 
the previous habits of each and every candidate have been, 
and to impress him with the importance of his position and 
the difficulties likely to beset him. 

A course of training, to prove really beneficial, must be ac- 
cepted as a pleasant task, and not as a disagreeable piece of 
work, which is compulsory and not at all desirable. Before 
commencing, every man should be made to undergo a thorough 
physical examination, in order that any unsoundness may be 
detected, as none but perfectly healthy men should ever be 
selected to undergo a vigorous course of training. 

The object of training is to strengthen and utilize every 
portion of the frame, in order that the body may put forth its 
utmost power, in a long continued effort (such as would be 
impossible to a man in ordinary condition) without feeling 
any injurious effects. A boat's crew, in good condition, can 
pull a five or six-mile race, exhaust almost every particle of 
muscular strength, come home blinded from congestion, and 
yet incur no danger of serious consequences, whatever ; and,, 
in a majority of cases, a few moment's rest will enable them 
to repeat the effort. Grit, when it constitutes one of the 
characteristics of a well-trained man, will usually ensure suc- 
cess at the oar, but unless accompanied by good condi- 
tion, it is likely to prove a misfortune to its possesor, if 
pushed in a hard race. The excitement consequent to a boat 
race, taken in connection with the '* warmed up " feeling 
that comes over a man, are agents that vvill cause him to 
over-exert himself, without realizing it, at the time, if not 
well trained. 

A good many men have doubtless injured themselves 



TRAINING. 197 

fey undertaking feats of physical strength, beyond their ability 
to perform, and it would be far better to sacrifice the 
honor that accompanies success, than to sacrifice one's health 
in attempting to attain it, if either is necessary. 

It is claimed by some oarsmen, that a man who is ''in 
good health," and about to undergo a course of training, 
does not require any medicinal treatment at all, and not 
very strict regulations as to diet and exercise. 

With all such, however, I beg, most uncompromisingly, 
to differ, for several reasons. In the first place, the class 
designated by them as being in good health, embraces all 
those who are not confined by sickness, which is far from 
being the case, as a man might carry impure blood in his 
veins for a lifetime, and never be sick. In the second 
place, as to strictness of diet and regimen ; abundance of 
muscle, great breathing capacity or lung power, pure blood, 
and solid flesh, are indispensable requisites to a well trained 
man. These are obtained by a sufiiciency — not a super- 
abundance — of sleep, pure air and water, good nutritious 
food and regular exercise ; and by these agents only. 

Only certain kinds of food and certain liquids can be 
made use of for training purposes with advantage, and if 
these are discarded, and every man is permitted to tickle his 
own palate, it is difficult to discover how good condition is 
to be attained. "We will suppose, then, that a crew of 
sound men have been selected to undergo a course of train- 
ing, and explain the manner of preparing them according to 
their respective conditions at the time of such selection. 

There will not be one man in a hundred, .probably, who has 
not been, up to that date, a pretty constant smoker, or chewer, 
ox drinker ; very likely both of these, very probably all three. 



198 TRAINING. 

These excesses, have, perhaps, been indulged by men, some 
of whom lead sedentary lives, while others are engaged in active 
business. The prospect of forming one of a racing crew, will 
usually exert a very beneficial effect upon a man ; strength- 
en his determination to discard his vicious practices, and 
buoy him up for the work he has in hand. And the diffi- 
culty of resisting the temptations which on every side beset 
him, is fully as great as that of performing his crew work. 
The mode of treating a man who is run down by close ap- 
plication to business, in conjunction, perhaps, with good 
living, is somewhat different from that required for one who 
has exercised pretty constantly, but has injured himself by 
a too liberal use of tobacco, spirits, and etceteras. The 
result to the health of both, has been pretty much the 
same ; impaired digestion, disturbed and irregular repose, 
and consequent enfeeblement of the whole system. Social 
rank, personal habits, and individual temperaments, will 
necessarily vary the bodily conditions of the candidates, and 
require special consideration. 

A college man is, from his mode of living, very often the 
most difficult to handle, but, as a general thing, now-a- 
days, they are found to live in a rather Christianlike man- 
ner. The favorite son of a wealthy sire leaves home to 
finish his education at one of our colleges, and has abund- 
ance of means furnished him with which to gratify every 
longing of his appetite. We will presume that he is not a 
confirmed debauchee, and that his dissipation is accompanied 
by considerable active exercise. If healthy and robust, the 
undermining of his constitution will be gradual, and, per- 
haps, for some time, not noticeable. But the change comes 
some time, and worn features, dimmed and blood-shot eyes. 



TRAINING. 199 

are the external evidences of weakened digestion, feverish 
blood, and tottering mind within. 

When a man carries with him every evidence of weakened 
frame and great debility, it would be sheer wickedness to 
start him in active training, as the result would be likely to 
be anything but beneficial. His preparation must be very 
gradual and cautious, as, otherwise, he will be totally 
unable to perform his duty, as his strength must inevitably 
fail him. His vices must be dropped at the start, and a 
moderate amount of exercise commenced. 

In addition to this, his diet must be cautiously changed, 
and a course of bathing entered upon. In a short time his 
appetite will improve, his strength return, and his sleep be 
sound and long. The amount of work to be done can then 
be increased to any extent desirable, and the man is once 
more in good condition. 

There is another individual selected for a crew, whose 
living has not been nearly so high as the former one, but 
whose dissipation, or use of tobacco and liquors, has been 
fully as great. His food is, perhaps, very spare, and his 
daily labor not very active or severe. His pipe is scarcely 
ever out of his mouth between meals, and then only for the 
purpose of admitting a bunch of ** fine-cut," or a glass of 
liquor. His energies soon begin to fail ; he seems as if in a 
continual fog, and his flesh becomes soft and doughy. He is 
unable to assign a probable reason for his condition, other 
than the want of proper exercise, and so having, perhaps, 
occasionally rowed a little, he resorts to a boat, with the ex- 
pectation of finding an increase of power. The result of his 
pains is unexpected and unsatisfactory, and the party is 
usually apt to become so disgusted with the trial as to defer 



200 



TRAINING. 



him from any other attempts at restoring his health by 
exercise. 

But he must not despair, as his case is by no means 
hopeless, if he acts with judgment and discretion, and does 
not expect too great a return of health, from too small an 
investment of labor. 

There are other classes of individuals who are chosen as 
members of racing crews, especially in cities and places 
where the club is not connected with an educational or 
any similar institution. One of these occupies the posi- 
tion of book-keeper, cashier, or copying clerk, in some office, 
store or bank. His whole attention is given to adding up 
columns of figures, settling mathematical results or, perhaps, 
maintaining an arduous and responsible correspondence. 
This makes so liberal a draught upon his muscular and 
nervous strength that he loses all life and energy, and at last 
finds himself scarcely able to stand up to his desk, or to con- 
centrate his thoughts upon his work. He may, it is true, 
rise early, take a walk, or if his means permit, a horse-back 
ride, and expect that such exercise as this will serve to 
keep him in good health. But while his system is daily 
subjected to such a drag, he can only find temporary relief 
and support in this method of exercising. 

Another class of men who sometimes sufi'er severely from 
over-taxation of their mental systems, are students of law, 
medicine, divinity and science. 

4-uthors, writers and lecturers too, very frequently lose their 
health by too close application of their minds to their re- 
spective pursuits, prompted, as it often is, by a very laud- 
able ambition for success and distinction. 

Merchants, and business men generally, are not altogether 



TRAINING. 201 

free from the injurious consequences which ensue from a too 
<close application of the mind to one subject for a long time, 
and they must be considered as forming part of the same 
<3lass with those above referred to. First, then, we will 
consider the case of a man, no matter whether he be a stu- 
dent, a writer, or a business man, who has been injured by 



OVEPt-WORK. 

A man looking to distinction, whether in a profession, or 
business of any kind, had better not lose sight of the fact 
that *' haste makes waste,'' and that by constantly applying 
himself to study or business, in the hope of a rapid and 
prominent success, without allowing his body and mind to 
recuperate by a season of rest, he will find, in a few years, 
his pace becoming gradually slower, and his powers of ap- 
plication almost entirely gone. 

Some very able men, both in the pulpit, on the bench, 
and in the professions, make themselves heard and felt by 
the influences of their powerful intellects, even after their 
bodies have become diseased and decerpit ; but this is only 
because, when younger, they mastered and developed great 
ideas, which now shine forth in spite of their infirmities, 
and not because their bodily and mental powers are in a 
healthy condition. 

A person engaged in studious pursuits should regulate his 
hours for study and exercise, so that he may do his day's 
work without feeling nervous and excitable. So many hours 
for study, so many for sleep, exercise, etc., should be the 
rule. But it is seldom that an ambitious man, as long as his 



202 TRAINING. 

mind holds out, will devote any of his time to exercise, and 
if he does, it will be very likely of such a nature as will do 
him very little, if any good. When such an one is about 
to enter upon a course of physical training, he should, if 
possible, relinquish during this time, altogether, his books 
or accounts, and devote his time entirely to exercise and 
rest. If he cannot do this, and a great many, not their own 
masters, cannot, he should shorten his hours of study as much 
as possible, and endeavor to follow, as near as he can, the in- 
structions upon training contained in this Book. His hours 
for study should be divided so as to leave intervals of 
considerable length between for exercise. 

Breakfast should be taken at about 7 o'clock, after which 
the party should maintain perfect quiet for a half hour. 
The breakfast should be substantial, but not heavy, If cof- 
fee has been used, it should be continued ; but none other 
than black tea ought to be used. 

Study should commence at 8, and continue until 11, when a 
good long walk should be taken for one hour ; commencing at a 
moderate pace, and increasing gradually. Upon arriving home 
at 12 o'clock, the party, who will most likely be perspir- 
ing freely, should lie down for twenty minutes, in some place 
not exposed to a draft, and rest. He should then get up 
and exercise with a pair of dumb-bells or Indian clubs for a 
half hour ; after this, sponge off the face, neck and breast. 
Dinner should be concluded at about 1 1-2 o'clock, and a 
siesta of thirty minutes taken. From 2 o'clock to 5, read- 
ing, study, or whatever the man's business may happen to 
be, can be resumed. 

At this hour he should resort to his boat, and starting 
j^lowly, gradually increase liis speed, as in the morning 



TRAINING. 203 

walk, until a pretty rapid stroke is attained. This should last 
about three-quarters of an hour, so that 6 o'clock will find him 
at home undergoing his ablutions, preparatory to the evening 
meal. Supper should be taken at 6 1-2, after a rest of about 20 
minutes or so. When supper is concluded, no more study or la- 
bor of any kind ought to be taken, but any light exercise that 
will, at the same time, serve to amuse him, should be resorted to. 
Croquet, or any similar lawn game, when the weather is favor- 
able, will be very agreeable ; when the weather is inclement, 
such games as checkers, cards, backgammon, etc., will serve to 
pass away a few pleasant hours until bed time shall arrive. He 
should retire at about 10, so as to have an abundance of rest, 
and be able to rise on the following morning at 6. 

When the party first commences this preparatory training, 
his exercise should at first be rather gentle, so as to obviate 
any danger from overexertion, and afterwards gradually in- 
creased. If he has been a pretty constant smoker or chewer, 
he should cease this from the earliest possible moment. The 
use of liquor should also be abandoned, and nothing but 
coffee, water, milk or tea used as a drink. 

On no account, should any of the nocturnal delicacies of 
the summer season, such as ices, julips, creams, etc., be 
partaken of, as their effects upon the system are anything 
but salutary. By following the advice given, it is certain 
that the over-worked man may either recover what strength 
he has lost, or develop largely what he may at the time 
possess, so as to be enabled to engage in active training, and 
contend successfully in almost any Rowing match. The 
next individual whom we are sure to meet in almost every 
selected crew, and whose physical condition we are 
bound to look into and consider, is he who **has liv- 



204 TRAINING. 

ed not wisely, but^ too well." He is, emphatically, 

THE MAN OF GOOD CHEER. 

He may be a man who is not constitutionally lazy ; one 
who exercises a great deal, but yet pays a serf-like homage 
to his stomach. His only difficulty, in getting into good 
condition, will arise from a want of self-command ; an in- 
ability to say ''no !" when his stomach calls for more. If 
he is pecuniarily well off, the difficulty is even greater than 
if he were otherwise circumstanced, as there is then no pros- 
pect of touching a tender chord, by a pull at his purse- 
strings, to which very many men are so sensitive. He may 
be situated almost anywhere, and his mode of living will be 
the same. *' Eat, drink and be merry, for to-morrow we 
die," is an injunction only too universally followed, and a 
candidate in training, who has acted upon this principle, 
will need to exert his will-power to its utmost, in order to 
fulfill the requirements. If he has been only a moderate 
drinker, he will suffer no evil consequences by quitting the 
use of liquor entirely, from the start. But, if he has been 
a severe drinker, great care should be exercised in the man- 
ner of reducing his potations, as dangerous consequences are 
likely to ensue from too suddenly ceasing the use of alcoholic 
stimulants. 

The best plan is to gradually decrease the quantity 
of liquid taken, and to substitute something else for the 
balance. The following draught has been very frequently 
prescribed by trainers for their men : Aromatic confection, 
10 grains; sal. volatile, 1 drachm; bicarbonate soda, 5 
grains ; sweet gentian, 1 drachm ; water, 1 ounce ; to be 



TRAINING. ^ 205 

mixed together. This will prove especially beneficial to those 
who experience that * Agoing" or falling sensation, which is 
the result of abuse from alcoholic and narcotic stimulants. 

The above dose may be taken daily, or oftener, if it is 
found necessary, until the necessity for it ceases to exist. 
The diminution of liquid should go steadily on until it is 
found safe to do without it entirely. Liquor should be 
avoided by a man in training — or out of it either for that 
matter — as something as dangerous to his safety as a lee 
shore is to the storm-tossed mariner. There is not the same 
danger in summarily quitting the use of tobacco as in 
ceasing the use of liquor, and, therefore, no excuse can be 
found for its tise. In diminishing the quantity of liquor, 
malt liquor will, if unadulterated, be the best, but where 
this does not prove sufficient, wine, or spirits, in small 
quantity, can be made use of, and for this purpose, an occa- 
sional glass of brandy and water, or claret, must be allowed. 
When the claret does not disagree, it proves an excellent 
wine for gradually lowering the stimulus. Where the diges- 
tive system has been very much disordered, the claret should 
be mulled and taken warm. 

Excess in smoking and drinking produces abnormal secre- 
tion of the kidneys and skin, and this is the means by 
which nature endeavors to dispose of the poison absorbed 
by these agents. The effect, however, does not always im- 
mediately cease on the removal of the cause ; hence the 
thirst continues, and some liquid must he taken to quench it. 
For those who can afford it, and for whom it is agreeable, 
claret and soda are very good, or porter, or beer, mixed 
with equal proportions of soda water. Purgatives, in such 
cases, must be used with extreme care. No person accus- 



206 TKAINING. 

tomed to higli living, will be able to bear strong aperient 
medicines, without running some risk or sufferiug some in- 
jury, and, although they are commonly administered, they 
should be given only with the extremest caution. 

Where there is a healthy action of the liver present, a 
black draught may be taken, consisting of the following in- 
gredients : Half ounce sweet essence senna, with a tea- 
spoonful of salts, dissolved in warm water. Or, in lieu of 
this, one or two compound rhubarb pills may be taken at 
night. If the passages are of a slate or clay color, a five 
grain blue pill ought to be taken at night, and the above 
draught in the morning. Should a tendency to diarrhoea 
show itself, and the bowels act more than once a day, for 
any number of days, a wineglassful of decoction of bark, 
with a teaspoonful compound tincture of the same, should 
be taken two or three times a day. If the trouble exists, 
to a considerable extent, and the bowels are very lax, twenty 
to twenty-five drops of laudanum may be added to each 
dose ; and if watery, with griping pains, twenty-five to 
thirty drops of diluted sulphuric acid may be given with it. 
In a majority of cases, the tone of the stomach will be re- 
covered by the above remedies, and the diarrhoea will disap- 
pear, but if it does not, a physician had better be con- 
sulted. 

During the preparatory process, the mind should be di- 
verted and amused, at the same time that the body is being 
exercised and physicked. To this point great attention 
should be paid, as the success of the treatment depends as 
much upon the health of the mind as of the body. The care 
of the mind is something which receives very little attention, 
from trainers, and it therefore becomes necessary to impress 



TRAINING. 207 

its importance upon tliem. Without some light amusement 
or recreation, the training becomes so much hard work, 
and fails in its object ; it tires out the candidate, but 
does not restore his equanimity. 

If the proper amusement is furnished to satisfy the mind, the 
trials and labors of training will scarcely be felt, and if felt 
at all, will be in such a manner as to create a desire for a 
icontiuance of it. 

Men in training, of the class now under consideration, 
should keep each other's company as much as possible, and by 
this means they will meet with less temptation and find less 
difficulty in overcoming it. 

The diet should constitute a variety, and yet be substantial 
and nutritious. Roast mutton or beef, mutton chops, beef- 
steaks or poultry, may be used. Good fresh fish and game 
are not injurious, and certain kinds of pastry, if properly pre- 
pared, will do no hurt. Rigid dieting should be postponed 
until the period of active training, as the stomach will not 
usually stand it f5r a protracted period. 

An immersion in cold water should be taken every morning, 
and in very cold weather, the temperature of the water should 
be between sixty and seventy degrees. A wet cloth should 
be used with which to rub the body until it glows. In the 
accomplishment of this portion of the work, the help of an as- 
sistant will be very desirable. If the reaction is speedy, a 
calico shirt may be put on, but if otherwise, it might be best 
to don flannel, especially in cold weather. It is not neces- 
sary to make use of flannel often, however, as one who is so 
-delicate as to require it, will scarcely be strong enough to 
undergo a course of vigorous training. 

This then, comprises about all that is necessary to say upon 



208 TRAINING. 

this subject to those whose previous habits have been ones of 
dissipation, but who, at the same time, have exercised con- 
siderably in the open air. There is another class of indi- 
viduals who live well, and take little or no exercise. This 
class of 

WELL-FED IDLERS 

Have pursued the same vicious practices as the preceding; 
but have not imitated them in their physical exercise- 
Their case is the most precarious of any, and will generally 
prove the most difficult to handle. 

A greater amount of self-command, is required by one of 
this set than by any other, but as a. matter of course, his 
will-power, like that of his body, has become enfeebled 
from lack of use, and will need considerable time to restore 
it to its natural condition. 

Exceptions to this rule will very often be found in cases 
of men who, though thoroughly given lip to dissipation^ 
have great determination of character, and if they once 
say : ** I will quit drinking and smoking," it is done. 

Occasionally, a man will be selected, of immense frame 
and great physical power, with weak and vacillating mind, 
}vho will either ''blow hot or cold," as the fancy strikes 
him. It will be best not to place very much reliance upon 
him, as he is just as likely as not, at the last moment, to throw 
off all restraint, and declare, emphatically, that he *' won't " 
do so and so. The amount of vigilance required to keep 
him out of mischief will scai*cely be repaid. 

Idleness and dissipation, in his case, have either led to a 
dislike for exercise, or aj'e produced for want of it. But if 



TRAINING. 209 

the trainer decides to undertake the care and preparation of 
such a candidate, he must proceed cautiously and gradually, 
both as to diet and exercise. The person selected may be 
a good natured agreeable man, who was led into his vicious 
course by some one else of stronger mind and temperament. 
He may also be rescued by such an one, if he is willing to 
spend the time required to get him into trim. It will be 
necessary to '* watch " him continually until he is thoroughly 
broke in, and the influence and example of those around him 
begins to tell. The method of curing him of his vicious 
habits, and the evil consequences that have resulted there- 
from, will be similar to that advised in the case of '* the man 
of good cheer. ' ' The medicine etc. , must be regulated accord- 
ing to the requirements of the case, and after a short season 
of preparatory training, he will be ready to engage in active 
work. In a majority of cases, men of these two classes will 
be found either with a greater abundance of solid flesh than 
will be convenient to carry in the race, or they will be 
bloated by liquor. The nature of their indulgences, how- 
ever, has a good deal to do with this, and some will be found 
thin, haggard and worn, (in consequence of the long and 
serious derangement of their digestive systems. ) Upon ceas- 
ing the use of the exciting agents of this derangement, how- 
ever, they will generally accumulate flesh and muscle very 
rapidly. In considering the cases of men of this class, it 
has been taken for granted that they have an abundance of 
time to train, and that they are at liberty to devote what 
time they please to their work. 

Another class of men who often require relief from their 
business are those who have adhered too closely to light 
14 



210 TRAINING. 



MECHANICAL LABOK. 

A great many men wliose occupation is in-doors, injure 
i/hemselves by too close confinement, although the nature of 
their business may call for considerable bodily exercise. 
For instance, hat and cap makers work all day, but not in a 
manner that is calculated to strengthen them very much. 
The room is generally over heated and poorly ventilated, 
and never fails to work injury. Men confined in wollen, to- 
bacco, and other factories of similar descri]3tion, generally 
sufi'er from the same causes. 

Tailoring and shoemaking, are occupations that are charac- 
terised by considerable muscular exertion, especially of the 
arms, but the cramped position in which the body is confined 
for so long a time is likely to impede the circulation. 

Printers also, though they stand up to the case and exer- 
cise the body to a considerable extent, and with a healthy 
motion, are yet very often sujBFerers from disease, from cause 
somewhat similar to those mentioned above. The atmos- 
phere in which they breath, and the exhalations from the 
type, often produce serious injury, and, as for night-print- 
ers, the very nature of their occupation causes a constant 
wear on the system, which ultimately breaks it down. 

Men of this class, who contemplate engaging in a course 
of training, will almost always find it a very easy task, as 
their lives have been, for the most part, ones of sobriety. 
There are, to be sure, many dissipated mechanics, but the 
most of their time is spent in, honest labor, and their con- 
stitutions have suffered very little injury from any other 
causes than those consequent to their business. 



TRAINING. 211 

In any of the emergencies spoken of hereinbefore, the reme- 
dies or mode of treatment laid down may be resorted to. If 
no special derangement of the system is manifest, a gradual 
course of exercise is to be commenced and proceeded with, ac- 
cording to circumstances. A morning walk and bath, in the 
early stages ; dumb-bell, and club exercises before dinner, 
which should be succeeded by a half hours' rest. Between 
-five and six o'clock in the evening, a row of from two to three 
jniles. Then supper and amusement of some kind until bed- 
time. 

This is meant for those who continue their daily avocations 
at the same time that they are entering their course of exer- 
cise ; but for those who can temporarily leave off work, a strict- 
er system should be enforced. 

Probably sufficient has now been said upon the subject of 
preparing men for races, who at the same time continue their 
daily avocations. That is to say, that the method of treat- 
ing men of different temperaments, and physical conditions, 
during the preparatory process, has been fully explained. 
During the course of active training, it is hoped that the crew 
will be able to relinquish their business duties and devote 
their whole time to training. At colleges, and places of simi- 
lar chracter, they are usually enabled to do this. 

The following, will constitute what might be termed, the 
summary of a day's work in Professional Training. 



A DAY'S WOKK. 

Else between five and six o'clock A. M ; five is sufficiently 
early, and six is the latest allowable. Start on a walk, at 



212 TRAINING. 

moderate pace, whicli is to be gradually increased to a run. 
About two miles and return, will be sufficient nt the com- 
mencement, and can be increased if possible. Then rub per- 
fectly dry with a coarse towel, and take an ablution with a 
sponge in cold water. 

Breakfast should be taken about one hour and a half after 
rising, and is to consist of the diet mentioned. 

Light reading or exercise, after breakfast for about three 
hours, when, take the boat, and pull at regular speed for 
about forty minutes. An hour and a half, or two hours, 
should intervene between the morning row and dinner, which 
should be prepared as nearly as possible, in accordance with 
the directions laid down in .this Work. 

After dinner, any light exercise will be in order, until be- 
tween four and five, when the boat is again to be taken, and 
pulled at about the same pace as in the morning for about 
one hours' time. 

Supper should be eaten at about seven o'clock, after 
which no more exercise that day, and no more food or drink 
should be taken, unless where it is absolutely necessary- 

The evening should be spent in reading, singing, or any 
similar amusement. 

Retire about three hours and a half after supper to a single 
bed in a room ventilated and dry. 



BREAKFAST. 

A majority of trainers formerly considered, and many yet 
retain the opinion, that oat-meal porridge is far superior to 
anything else for the morning meal. But to those who en- 



TRAINING. 213 

tertained an aversion to this diet, which many do, a pint of 
table beer, home-made, and not too strong, with a liberal 
allowance of bread, was given. A small quantity of beef 
or mutton was also allowed. 

Oat-meal porridge *' is " very good, if agreeable ; but where 
distasteful, I should not certainly recommend the table beer 
as a substitute, for the reason that beer or liquor of any 
kind, inactive training, is not only not beneficial but positive- 
ly injurious. Light biscuit or bread, slightly stale, or even dry 
toast, with broiled beef or mutton, may, in most cases, be 
accepted as good and safe to be eaten, and not very likely 
to disgust the partaker. 

As a drink,' water in small quantities, pure milk, or black 
tea, which is best taken clear. It is not desirable to stint 
the appetite, unless very enormous, or where there is a great 
superabujidance of fat, and even then it will, in most cases, 
be found more advantageous to reduce the weight by work 
than by starvation. 

Broiling the meat is generally recommended, because, by 
that means less nutriment is lost than by any other mode of 
cooking, but an occasional roast or fry, will serve to vary 
the routine, and will do no hurt. 

The steak should be kept on the gridiron till properly 
done through, as the food is thus rendered much more 
palatable to most persons, and certainly more digestible 
to all. 

Coffee is not generally recommended, nor very generally 
used, in training, and I will not advise the use of it, though 
I think that the effects of coffee, when procured whole, 
well ground and properly cooked, is not by any means as 
injurious as some would have us believe. 



214 TRAINING. 

Cocoa is considered too greasy, and nofc to be compared to- 
tea, which the trainers of a few years ago recommended 
should be green; black tea, altogether^ is the custom 
now. 

Butter, sauces, and spices, should be avoided, and noth- 
ing but salt, and a very little pepper, used as a condi- 
ment. 

The articles above enumerated comprise about all that can 
be safely recommended for general use at breakfast, but it 
is, in my opinion, impossible to prescribe what shall and 
what shall not be taken by all individuals, in all localities, 
of a country of so varied a climate and temperature as 
America; and if, upon trial, other and different kinds of 
food are found to agree with a man, he should use them 
without stint. 



DINNER. 

This is the most important meal, and should consist of 
roast beef or mutton, well-done or rare, according to 
taste, with occasionally a fowl, excepting such as are 
rich and greasy, as, for instance, goose or duck. When 
the meat is ordered well done, it is not meant that it should 
be burned to a crisp, nor yet th^t all the juice is to be ex- 
tracted by cooking, but that it may be so done as to leave 
as much as possible of the juice in the meat without having 
it too rare. 

It has been said that the meat should be cooked to suit 
the fancy of the patient, but, in all cases, this would be 
anything but a safe plan to adopt, as very few persons are 



\ 

TRAINING. 215 

anything like well instructed upon hygiene, in its relations 
to the culinary art ; and of those who are, a large majority 
prefer rather to satisfy their palates than to follow the dic- 
tates of their judgment. In a majority of cases, however, 
a man's food should be cooked in the manner to which he has 
been accustomed and prefers. 

Salt beef, pork, veal, and most wild fowl, should be 
avoided. Potatoes must be used sparingly — one or two 
moderate sized ones will be sufficient at a meal. All other 
vegetables have heretofore been ruled out, as being improper 
for a man in training to partake of — but there is no reason 
why very many of the vegetables that make their appear- 
ance in our market should not be moderately used, if prop- 
erly prepared. 

Where the party in training has always been accustomed 
to eating all the vegetables of the season, no possible harm 
can result from his indulging with discretion in the use, 
occasionally, of parsnips, green peas, cauliflower, corn, or 
even cabbage, in small quantity. 

But if used, it should be without vinegar or spices. 
Bread, at this meal, as at all times, is to be used '* ad 
libitum," or in lieu thereof, light biscuit or crackers, as it 
is good to change off. As a drink, water, tea, or milk may 
be used. If tea is taken, it should be black, and not too 
strong. If milk, it should be fresh and pure, and whatever 
is used should be partaken of in small quantities, perhaps not 
more than one cup or glassful. 

It was formerly the custom to give at this meal, from a 
pint to a quart of home brewed ale, claret, or sherry and 
water. 

Fish has been seldom prescribed as an article of diet to 



216 TRAINING. 

those in training, althougli no objection exists to the use of 
many of the different species of fish that abound in our fresh 
water lakes and rivers. It would be difficult to mention any 
particular fish that is to be had in all localities of the 
country, but fresh whitefish, when it can be obtained, makes 
a very agreeable relish, and if moderately used, will be very 
good food. 

In any case, whatever is used should not be continued too 
long without a change, as nothing so thoroughly disorders 
the digestive functions, as sticking too closely to one kind of 
food. 

This should be constantly borne in mind by the trainer, 
as there is no reason why he should confine himself to any 
particular articles. 

As a desert, he may allow every third day a pudding com- 
posed of either tapioca, farina or cornstarch, or a common 
bread pudding, not too heavy, will be as good as anything else. 
This served up with green currants, blackberries or gooseber- 
ries, will be by no means disagreeable to the palate, or un- 
wholesome to the stomach. While allowing this pudding, it is 
meant that it shall be prepared lightly, and that it, as well 
as the preserve sauce, shall be used with discretion. The 
main article of diet at dinner, in moderately warm climates, 
should, as a matter of course, be beef or mutton, with bread, 
but as it would be next to impossible for any person to train 
on these articles alone, those above mentioned have been pre- 
scribed for judicious use as auxiliaries. 



TRAINING. 217 



SUPPER. 

The trainers of a few years ago, or many of tiiem at least, 
maintained that no supper should be eaten by a party in 
training, but experience has proved that unless the training is 
of so long duration as to thoroughly accustom the stomach to 
the long fast from dinner to the next morning, it is much bet- 
ter to allow a light meal in the evening. 

For this meal, oatmeal porridge is perhaps 'the best thing 
to use, with dry toast. A soft boiled egg may be taken 
every second or third night, without pepper or salt. Meat is 
not necessary at night, except for persons of very delicate con- 
stitution, who may require unusual support. For such per- 
sons a small steak and a little fried potato may be prepared ; 
taking care to broil the steak, and not to use grease with the 
potatoes. 

For those who are not obliged to use meat, a little cran-" 
berry sauce, not too sweet, may be taken on their bread in 
conjunction with the porridge. When in season, blackberries 
and stawberries may be allowed, in small quantities, but not 
unless perfectly sound and fresh, as otherwise a sour stom- 
ach would be likely to result. As at the two previous meals, 
water, milk or tea, may be taken in moderation. After this 
meal nothing more should be taken until the following morn- 
ing, unless in cases where extreme thirst is felt, which can best 
be allayed by a drink of cool water or milk. 

The trainer requires great skill and experience to enable 
him to bring out his crew in proper condition, without either 
overworking them or leaving them *' slack." All should be 
so trained as to be able to perform an equal amount of work, 



218 TRAINING. 

as notliing is so likely to work harm to a crew as difference 
of condition among its members. If one man pegs out early 
in the race, some one else has got to do his share of the work, 
or at least try to do it, and thus run the risk of over exert- 
ing or straining himself, whilst the inevitable result of such 
a states of things will be that either '' starboard " or ''port,'^ 
as the case may be, will pull round. 

And so you have unequal and homely rowing, beside losing 
the contest. Hence, in order to have the crew uniformly 
and properly ti*ained, care should betaken not to "stint '^ 
beyond reason, those who may have been accustomed to liberal 
diet, nor to allow anything more than what is herein pre- 
scribed to those who ** train well." 

If, for instance, the habit is gross, and the appetite good, it 
will be necessary to allow only the plainest food, and to vary 
it a very little. 

By this precaution, enough and not too much, is sure to 
be taken, and the amount of work will ensure its diges- 
tion. 

If, on the other hand, the constitution is delicate, with 
a want of appetite, want of digestion, and too great a loss 
of flesh, it is desirable to allow as much change as pos- 
sible. ' 

Some persons are purged by oatmeal, and, as a matter of 
course, should avoid porridge, with others, all the bread 
should be toasted to prevent diarrhoea, whilst with some, 
when constipation is present, coarse brown bread, made 
from the genuine undressed flour, is a good remedy for that 
troublesome evil. Hot bread, or biscuit, should never be 
eaten, but fresh bread is always allowable. Graham bread, 
for persons whose bowels are not regular, will be an excel- 



TRAINING. 219 

lent article of diet. For mutton chops, tlie best part is 
the leg of a two or three year old wether; for steaks, 
the inside of a sirloin. 

In the early days of practice, and in the race itself, 
great distress sometimes occurs ; there is considerable blue- 
ness of face from congestion, and the breathing is labored 
and difficult. The best remedy for this state is a little 
brandy and water and good friction on the feet, legs, and 
thighs, or, if it still persists, a warm bath at ninety-eight 
degrees. 

KEDUCING WEIGHT. 

Superfluous flesh is something which must, as a matter 
of course, be got rid of before a man will be in condition to 
enter a race. To this end, various means are used, all of 
which, however, produce sweating, by which the weight is 
to be reduced. Corpulent persons, in training, should not 
make use of fat-producing food, as it would be impossible 
to produce good condition by sweating to reduce weight, 
while at the same time the quality of food eaten, tends to 
an accumulation of flesh. Milk, fresh bread, and butter, 
should be used cautiously, and, perhaps, not to use butter at 
ail, would be the better plan. 

It is not desirable to dose a man with medicine, while in 
training, any more than at any other time, but much good 
can be often and rapidly accomplished by the aid of a little 
potent medicine, judiciously administered. If no evidence 
of organic derangement presents itself, there will, of course, 
be no necessity for using medicine, but if such derange- 
ment does exist, the better way will be to use a little 



220 . TRAINING. 

medicine. If there is torpid liver, a blue pill . might be 
taken before retiring at night, and a couple of seidlitz 
powders, or a bottle of magnesia in the morning. If this 
does not effect the desired object, castor oil, or salts and 
senna may be used. 

This should be continued, at intervals of two or three 
days, until the liver resumes a healthy action. More than 
one dose will seldom be required, and this will surely prove 
beneficial, by cleansing the stomach and intestines. Fatty 
deposits around the heart, lungs, etc., interfere with a 
healthy action of these organs, and are, of course, to be 
removed. 

The muscles also suffer an impediment from this cause, and 
the whole frame has an additional deadweight to carry. 
The sweating process comprises natural, artificial and medi- 
cinal sweating. 

NATURAL SWEATING 

Is produced by encasing the portions which it is desired to 
reduce, in heavy flannels. If the neck and chest are ple- 
thoric, three or four under shirts may be put on, and a 
comforter or shawl wound round the neck. If the abdo- 
men is corpulent, fasten several thicknesses of flannel in 
front of it, by means of one or two belts passed around 
the body. If it is desired to reduce the amount of fat upon 
the legs, draw on two or three pair of drawers or ' panta- 
loons. 

When all is ready, the party should start at a moderate 
pace, and increase to a dog-trot, which is to be kept up for 
about forty minutes, when the party should return to the 



TRAINING. ■ 221 

house and lie down witli all his clothes on, between two 
feather beds or several heavy blankets, for twenty or thirty 
minutes. Then get up and remove, first the clothing from 
the upper part of the body, and then from the lower 
limbs. Sponge well with hot brine, and rub down with 
coarse towel or flesh gloves, after which dress rapidly, so as 
to run no risk of catching cold. This system of natural 
sweating is more beneficial than any other. 

ARTIFICIAL SWEATING. 

This mode of reducing weight has been, for a great many 
years, resorted to by certain practitioners, and is effected by 
wrapping the body in a sheet which has previously been 
soaked in cold water, afterwards putting on a flannel or wool- 
en gown, outside of which again a heavy blanket or shawl. 
Then place the patient beneath a feather bed or heap of 
clothes, leaving the mouth uncovered. From twenty to 
thirty minutes produces a reaction, and bathes the whole 
body in perspiration. This is to be kept up for about fifty 
minutes, when the party should remove all the clothing and 
take one plunge in cold water, if convenient, or if not, make 
use of a sponge, rub dry, with crash towel, rapidly, and don 
the clothing. This method is usually preferred by the men, 
as it increases the flow of spirit, and imparts a **corkiness ^' 
to the frame, which is foreign to any other methed. The 
principal draw back to it is, that with many persons it pro- 
duces boils, which are usually constant enough in training, • 
from unavoidable causes, and not at all to be encouraged 
where it is possible to avoid them. 



222 TRAINING. 

SWEATING BY MEDICINE 

Is very popular, with some men, and is produced by 
taking wine of antimony, sweet spirits nitre, or Dovers' 
powder. 

. Medicinial agents, such as those, however, weaken the 
body to such an extent as to make them inadmissable, and 
therefore not to be recommended. 



AMATEUR TEAININa. 



By Amateur Training is meant those who follow a system 
of training without the aid or instruction of a Professional 
Trainer. 

A great many of the gentlemen amateurs of to-day, have 
not the time to spare that is required to carry out a com- 
plete and systematic course of training. Many, and perhaps, 
a large majority of the members of the leading amateur Boat 
Clubs of America, are engaged in business during the very 
hours which could be the most advantageously devoted to 
training ; and it has always been and still is, a moot question 
with them, how to get into good condition for a race, with- 
out neglecting their business duties. 

To all such, I will endeavor to give, in as correct detail 
as possible, snch instructions for amateur easy training, as will 
not certainly make them the equals of perfectly trained pro- 
fessional oarsmen, but of those of their own kind, against 
whom only, if they have any sense, they will try to contend. 
If the members of the crew be mechanics, or. clerks, or de- 
pendents of any kind, their hours of business will not, it 
is to be supposed, be longer than from seven till seven ; or 



224 TRAINING. 

if any person chosen for the crew has to work more hours 
than these, he had better either step out of the crew, or 
else out of his situation, for if he attempts to fullfil his 
business obligations, and at the same time his duty, as one 
of a racing crew — one or other, his business or his boating, 
will be sure to suffer. 

In most of the Northern States and Provinces, there is 
a winter, generally a long one, which affords an excellent 
opportunity for persons to keep themselves in good healthy 
condition and a state of muscular development, by frequent 
use of the dumb-bells, the horizontal bar, and Indian clubs. 
Winter offers this excellent opportunity, because at that 
time of year, out-door sports, excepting those connected with 
the ice, are laid on the shelf ; and one who has been confined 
during the day to business, will take hold of the clubs with 
more pleasure and gusto than he would on a summer evening, 
after having worked all day in a heated office, and walked the 
dusty streets, becoming exhausted and unfit for work. 

Besides this, during cold weather, more animal food, which 
is the fuel of the body is eaten, which, taken in connection 
with'a walk home on a bracing winter evening, produces an 
almost irresistible inclination to exercise, that is in dii-ect op- 
position to the feeling of lassitude almost universally present 
in extremly hot weather. Therefore, all men who expect to 
achieve any success with the oar, should be regular in their 
physical exercise during the winter months ; if tobacco and 
liquor are discarded it will be so much the better. 

If a gymnasium is accessible, by all means it should be 
resorted to, as here apparatus may be found suited to the 
development of every portion of the frame. The body 
should be gradually and cautiously strengthened by judicious 



TRAINING. 225 

exercise, until in such condition as to preclude, as far as 
possible, the danger of injuring ones' self from over exer- 
tion ; the clubs, bells and bars, should be mainly used as 
the instruments best calculated to develop the muscular por- 
tion of the body that is most actively, engaged in rowing. 

If opportunity is had in the gymnasium or elsewhere 
within shelter, to indulge in a regular morning run, it should 
be taken advantage of, as this will contribute greatly to the 
maintenance of health, and also facilitate every move to- 
wards getting into good condition for the summer work. 
The gymnastic exercises, if properly carried out, will be 
all that is necessary to keep the body in a healthy and vig- 
orous condition during the winter ; and, the individual will 
accordingly have not more than one half as much labor to 
perform, in getting into training condition, when the sea- 
son opens, as the man who, at the close of the last season, 
left off all active bodily exercise, and at the same time 
gave himself up to a liberal indulgence in tobacco and spirit- 
uous stimulants. As to the time at which gymnastic exer- 
cises can be engaged in with the most advantage — the even- 
ing — that is to say, commencing not sooner than one hour 
after the evening meal, has, in a great majority of cases, 
proved the most suitable and comfortable, and very fortu- 
nately, also, the most convenient. However, if a man's 
business hours are such as to give him leisure from four to 
six P. M., he will certainly derive great benefit by devoting 
that time, or a part of it, to bodily exercise. 

As soon as the weather is sufficiently pleasant to allow of 

the morning run being taken in the open air, it should be 

done. But while the morning air is so sharp and frosty as 

to produce labored respiration and oppression of the lungs, 
15 



226 TRAINING. 

no good, but serious consequences, might result. The dis- 
tance to be gone over should, of course, be gradually increased 
from day to day, as also the pace. I am well satisfied, from 
actual observation, that a crew can put themselves in as good 
condition, as men claiming to be amateurs ought to expect 
or desire, and yet neither neglect, in the least, their busi- 
ness, or incur anything but a nominal expense. All clubs 
of any consequence occupy club houses, either good, bad or 
indifferent, in which the members meet for club purposes. 

Naturally enough, a crew training in a city in which one 
man lives here, another there, and a third somewhere else, 
meet, during the time they are in training, at the house to 
do their crew work together, or at least they do, if their cap- 
tain is a capable man, and is resolved to see that all hands 
-fill the bill." 

Every man, upon rising in the morning, takes his bath ; 
and, if nothing more elaborate, in the way of a bath-tub, is to 
be had, a common wash-tub will answer the purpose, al- 
though it may not be quite so rapid or effective a means as a 
large one, or a shower bath, still it will do. Having then 
thoroughly drenched himself with water, he ccmmences the 
rubbing down process, and certainly the implements made 
use of for this purpose need not be vainly wished for, on 
account of cost. This completed, he gets into his flannels, 
and taking a second suit of flannel in a bundle under his arm, 
walks briskly to the boat house, or other place of rendezvous ; 
where, if all parties are on time, the morning run commences. 
If any delay is experienced from tardiness on the part of the 
crew, or other cause, he should keep moving briskly about 
until the start is made. As a matter of course the captain of 
the crew will prescribe the length and speed of the run. 



TRAINING. 227 

All being in readiness, the Captain calls his men to com- 
mence the walk, and the candidate, taking his place, throws 
his shoulders back, his head well up, and steps out grace- 
fully and buoyantly, at a moderately rapid walk. In the 
beginning of training, the pace should not be very rapid,, 
but in the middle and latter stages, after becoming well 
warmed up, the pace is quickened to a dog-trot, which 
again is doubled, and so on until the ** speed" is reached; 
the men always maintaining an erect posture, so that 
the organs of respiration may have full play ; breathing 
as much as possible through the nose. The fastest time 
is made on the **home stretch," and the party should 
come home at a rattling pace. The boat house reached, the 
man or men enter, and getting where there is no draught, im- 
mediately remove their outer clothing, after which the flannel 
shirt, which is of course wet with perspiration, is removed 
and the chest, back, and shoulders, rubbed perfectly dry with 
a good coarse towel. The drawers and stockings are then re- 
moved, and the legs and feet rubbed in the same manner, and 
the dry flannels are donned, after which the party, taking 
his wet flannels under his arm, starts for home, where he 
hangs them up to dry, and thus has them ready for the next 
morning. He is then ready for breakfast, which should be 
prepared, as indeed so also should all his meals, as nearly in 
accordance with the dietary rules hereinbefore contained, as 
circumstances will permit. That the breakfast will be well 
relished and well digested, it is not necessary to say, and 
that he will go to the business of the day feeling every inch 
a man, all who have tried it know. 

After breakfast he proceeds to business, which, in a majori- 
ty of cases is not forsaken until close on to the dinner hour. 



228 ' training! 

Before partaking of the noon da}^ meal, lie should indulge 
in a ten or fifteen minute ''pull'' with the clubs or dumb- 
bells which will serve as an appetizer. 

The dinner, which it is to be presumed will be simple, 
plain, and as nearly as possible what is prescribed in this 
work, should be well masticated; after this a "siesta" of 
fifteen or twenty minutes will prove beneficial, as serving to 
help on the digestive process, by keeping the mind momen- 
tarily at rest, as well as the bod}^ In all cases where the dis- 
tance is not too great, the party should walk to and from meals, 
as all the out-door walking possible should be had during the 
day. It is, of course, very seldom that a crew of amateurs can 
be found, who can obtain sufficient time to pull in the after- 
noon, but where such time can be obtained, it will be one step 
nearer to a perfect system of training, and should certainly be 
made use of. 

If an afternoon pull is practicable, it may be taken al- 
most any time, from two to five, but after five, I should 
not advise a crew of men, who have been engaged during 
the day in business, to pull before supper, as any time 
after five o'clock, the system is about preparing to receive 
the evening meal to which it has been accustomed, and is 
not in fit condition to sustain so liberal a draught upon its 
muscular power, as that made in a pull of forty or fifty 
minutes. 

The afternoon pull, then, if taken at all, should be had 
within at least an hour before the accustomed time for sup- 
per, or else deferred until after that meal. 

The candidate can usually manage to arrive home a half 
hour before supper time, and if he does this, and devotes 
this time to exercise with the clubs and bells, he has thus 



TRAINING. 229 

far been a good boy, and is entitled to a light supper, ac- 
cording to our rules. 

After having eaten his supper,^ he should rest, say read, 
for fifteen minutes, and then start at a comfortable gait, for 
the boat house. 

If perspiring, he should sit down and cool oiF, before 
taking oif his coat to get into the boat, as going out upon 
the river or lake, he must inevitably catch cold, if in such 
a condition. Having taken his place in the boat, he follows 
the directions laid down in regard to rowing, as well as 
those of the Coxswain or Captain of the crew. 

If the crew pull *'bare " — that is naked to the waist — 
they will certainly pull rapidly, and not rest upon the 
water, exposed to any draughts or currents of air, but where 
shirts are worn, many labor under the delusion that they 
can lay upon their oars with impunity, for any length of 
time, even though their thin shirts be dripping wet and their 
heads bare. ,, 

It would scarcely seem necessary to say anything here in 
regard to such conduct, more than to condemn it as court- 
ing danger which might easily be avoided ; and yet there 
are so many who pursue this course, either through total 
want of common sense, or for some incomprehensible rea- 
son that I feel justified in cautioning all persons who 
have any regard for their health, to give no encouragement 
to such a system, by pulling in a crew which follows it up. 

If any rests are made, they should be but momentary, and 
not long enough to incur any danger. x\s a matter of 
course, such rests will be necessary, as, otherwise, the 
weariness occasioned by long and severe pulling, prevents 
a crew from noticing and correcting faults in their style. 



230 TRAINING. 

wHcli they otherwise would. During the pull, no water or 
liquid of any kind, should be taken, but when thirst 
exists, the mouth may be rinsed with water, as well as 
the hands, wrists and joints generally, which will act 
beneficially on the whole system, and prevent the evil con- 
sequences which are so apt to follow the free use of cool 
liquid, while the body is in a perspiration. 

Neither should anything be taken before going, or after 
coming home, which is so often done by our amateurs, 
but as soon as the boat and oars are housed, the party 
should walk leisurely home, and retire, at the latest, by 
eleven o'clock, in a well ventilated and dry room, and where 
convenient, sleep in a single bed. 

Here, as nearly as possible, are all the directions that are 
necessary to enable an amateur crew to carry out a course 
of training which will put them, as I before said, in as 
good condition, if properly observed, as amateurs need ex- 
pect or desire. 

But the most practiced or intelligent trainer will utterly 
fail, in his endeavors to put a crew into good condition, 
unless each individual member of that crew, observes what 
rules are laid down for his guidance. And here, indeed, 
lies the great trouble to be avoided, viz : Getting men into 
the crew who are not *' honest.'^ By this, I mean those 
who will, if appointed, accept a position in a boat's crew, 
promising obedience to orders, and all that, but who will 
unscrupulously violate what they know to be essential work, 
if they deem detection unlikely. This is the great 'danger 
in training crews in cities where, oftentimes, each member 
does all but the pulling by himself. 

By all means, the crew should be kept, as much as pos- 



TRAINING. ' 231 

sible under the surveilance of the Captain, who should be a 
man of good judgment and experience, and one who will 
occasionally **test'' his men, by one means or another, in 
order to detect any defects in them likely to lessen their 
chances of winning. 

The importance of observing the rules of training should 
be impressed upon all candidates for the position of oarsman 
in a racing crew, as flunking, or soldiering, has more than 
once spoiled a race for what was, in reality, the best 
crew. 



DIGESTIBILITY OF FOOD. 



i 












HOW 


am' 


T OF 


TIME TO 


KIND OF FOOD. 


PKEPARED. 


nutrim't. 


DIGEST. 


Cucumbers, 


. Raw, . 


2 per ct. 


3.30 


Turnips, 


. Boiled, . . 


4 


<( 


2.15 


Milk, 


. Fresh, . . 


7 


a 


4.30 


Cabbage, 


. Boiled, . . 


7 


a 


1.50 


Apples. 


. Raw, . . 


10 


a 


2.30 


Potatoes, 


. Boiled, 


13 


a 


2.0O 


Fish, . . . 


. Broiled, 


20 


a 


1.30 


Venison, 


<< 


22 


a 


5.15 


Pork, . 


. Roasted, . 


24 


a 


4.00 


Veal, . 


( i 


25 


i I 


3.30 


Eeef, . . . 


a 


26 


li 


2.45 


Poultry, 


<< 


27 


( I 


3.15 


Mutton, 


( i 


30 


a 


3.30 


Wheat bread, 


Baked, 


80 


;c 


3.30 


Corn 


a 


80 


i I 


2.30 


Beans, 


Boiled, 


87 


(( 


1.30 


Rice, 




88 


ii 


1.00 


Butter and Oils, . 




96 


a 


3.30 


Sugars and Syrups, 




96 


(I 


3.30 



DIGESTIBILITY OF FOOD. 






(Digestibility of Food — Continued. ) 



KIND OP FOOD. 

Pigs' Feet, 

Tripe, 

Eggs — whipped, . 

Trout — salmon — fresh. 



(( 



Sago, . 

Tapioca, 

Mutton — fresh, . 

Corn-Cake, 

Pork Steak, 

Mutton — fresh, . 

Bread — wheat, . 

Eggs — fresh, 

Beef, 

Veal — fresh, 

Fowls — domestic. 

Beef — old hard salted, 

Ducks — wild. 

Cabbage, . 

Pork — fat and lean, . 

Bread — wheat, . 

Liver — beef, fresh, 

Eggs — -raw, 

Cabbage — raw. 

Milk, 

Milk, 

Eggs — fresh. 



HOW 
PREPARED. 

Soused, 

Kaw, 
Boiled, 
Fried, 
Boiled, 

Broiled, 
Baked, 

Broiled, 

Roasted, 

Fresh-bak'd 

Hard-boiled 

Fried . 

Broiled, 

Roasted, 

Boiled, 

Roasted, 

Boiled, 

Roasted, 

Baked, 

Broiled, 

Broiled, 

Vinegar, 

Raw, . 

Boiled, 

Roasted, 



TIME TO 
DIGEST. 

1.00 

1.00 

1.30 

1.30 

1.30 

1.45 

2.00 

3.00 

3.00 

3.15 

3.15 

3.30 

3.30 

4.00 

4.00 

4.00 

4.15 

4.30 

4.30 

5.15 

3.30 

2.00 

2.00 

2.00 

2.15 

2.00 

2.15 



234 



DIGESTIBILITY OF FOOD. 



(Digestibility of Food — Continued.) 



KIND OP FOOD. '^ 


HOW 
PREPARED. 


Turkey — wild, . 


Boasted, 


Turkey — tame, . 


Boiled, 


Turkey — tame, . 


Roasted, 


Goose — wild, . 


Roasted, 


Lamb — fresli, . 


Broiled, 


Parsnips, . 


Boiled, 


Potatoes, . 


Roasted, 


Cabbage — head, 


Raw, 


Cbicken — full-grown. 


Fricasseed, .' 


Beef — with salt only. 


Boiled, . 


Eggs — fresh, . 


Boiled salt, . 


Bass — striped, fresh. 


Boiled, 


Beef—fresh, lean, 


Rare-Roasted 



TIME TO 
DIGEST. 

. 2.15 

2.25 
2.30 
2.30 
2.30 
2.30 
2.30 
2.30 
2.45 
2.45 
3.00 
3.00 
3.00 



V 



TROUBLES IN TRAINING. 



BOILS. 



The process of training, drives out all tlie impurities from 
the system, and in so doing develops what are called boils. 
These result from decomposition of cellular membrane and in- 
flammation beneath the surface of the cuticle. The decom- 
posed portion has to slough off, and seems to exert a poisonous 
influence on surrounding parts, which interferes with the pro- 
cess of absorption, and creates a circle of red callous skin, usu- 
ally painful, around the dead part. 

In most cases the boil remains stationary for some time, 
and if it becomes thick, impedes the circulation in the interior 
of the circle. 

The best mode of removing these is either to divide them 
with a knife, or to apply a stimulating poultice, of a greasy 
nature, like flaxseed. This produces a healthy suppuration 
and granulation, and causes a renewal of the part. 

But the sensitiveness of the part affected, is usually so 
great as to make it almost impossible to use the knife, and 
where this is the case, a mercurial and opiate plaster 
spread on leather should be used. 

The combined effcQt of this is to stimulate and relieve, but 



236 TRAINING. 

a removal of the cause — that is a temporary cessation of work, 
will be necessary to effect a cure. For those who are subject 
to boils, fifteen grains nitrate silver dissolved in one ounce of 
water, will often prove a good preventive. This should be 
painted over the part predisposed to boils, every night. It 
blackens the skin but will cause no unpleasantness. 



CHAPPING. 

Men who pull early and late in the season often experience 
inconvenience from this affection in hands or feet. 

The remedies for this are very numerous and commonly 
known. A mixture of glycerine and honey is infallible, or 
the glycerine alone will generally prove effective. 

The mode of application is to simply rub the glycerine over 
the part troubled, and leave it on over night. 



BLISTERS OR WATER BOILS. 

These usually occur from getting the hands wet, or are to 
be found upon palms that are soft and unused to hard labor. 
If the blister bursts of itself, collodion should be applied with 
a brush, if the party does not object to the pain. This 
should be renewed about three times a day until the skin is 
sufficiently tough to cease its use. I have seen one of these 
little jokers, neglected, assume large proportions, and prevent 
the use of the hand for some time. When the collodion 
causes too much pain, apply a thin layer of medicated cotton 
under a kid glove, or if preferred, very finely pulverized gum 
arabic ; of course, it is best not to row while the hand is 



TRAINING. 237 

tender from blisters, but if it becomes absolutely necessary, a 
glove should be temporarily worn, no matter wbat the reme- 
dy used. The hands should not be wet or washed for twenty- 
four hours after the application of any remedy. When a 
blister forms, and before it comes to a head, or bursts, it 
should be pricked with a needle, and pressed, and this 
should be repeated as often as the blister forms This ex- 
cludes the air and allows time for the scarf skin to form. 



TRAINING NOT INJURIOUS. 



It has been stated that a shattered constitution and loss of 
health, is often the lot of those who follow a systematic 
course of training, for athletic exercises, of one kind or 
another, and that it is invariably so when training is perse- 
vered in for a number of years. 

For myself, I never believed this to be the case, but incline 
to the opinion that many who make this statement have been 
led to do so, from seeing, or hearing of persons who were 
**said" to have been injured, either while training for, or 
engaged in, some athletic contest. 

It is not difficult to understand how a person of delicate, or 
for that matter even the most robust constitution, may in- 
jure himself in training, if not very careful. 

For instance, if after having taken his morning run and 
arrived home in a state of profuse perspiration, he stands ex- 
posed to a draught while changing his flannels, it is not to be 
wondered at, that in the course of a few weeks he is heard 
hacking and coughing. 

Yet this fact, even if known, will seldom be mentioned, 
when his friends are telling how he lost health in training for 
a boat-race. 



TRAINING. 239 

Or again if the party starts for a run on a cool, frosty morn- 
ing and is so taken with the '* bracing" character of the 
atmosphere, as to put in his *' loudest " for a couple of miles, 
he need not wonder if he shall even raise a little blood at the 
finish ; but all this does not prove that training is in any way 
injurious, but merely that the candidate himself has not been 
judicious in his practice. 

But is not this same thing happening every day in the 
year, to persons engaged in every imaginable pursuit ? Do 
not all classes of persons expose themselves daily, in the most 
reckless manner while engaged in business, and pleasures of 
various kinds ? And the result of this exposure can be seen 
in the mortuary reports of the various cities. 

But it may be said that the oldest and most experienced 
of our athletes and trainers, have deteriorated and waxed 
weak, while yet young. I know of no instance of the kind, 
and do not believe that any such case exists. That is to say, 
I do not believe that any man ever lost strength of body or 
mind, from having trained too often for contests, where such 
course of training was not followed by a course of dissipation, 
or where disease was not contracted by careless exposure. 
The idea that because a man is brought somewhat nearer to a 
state of physical perfection, by what is styled ^'artificial'' 
means, than he usually is in, he must, upon ceasing the use 
of those means, or continuing to use them beyond a certain 
time, sufier a decrease of physical power proportioned to the 
increase obtained thereby, is ridiculous 

But here is what an eminent physiologist says upon the 
subject : ** The ordinary belief that the athletic constitu- 
tion cannot be long maintained, appears to have no founda- 
tion ; nor does it appear that any ultimate injury results 



240 TRAINING. 

from the system being persevered in for some time. That 
trained men often fall into bad health on the cessation of the 
plan, is probably owing in part to the intemperance and 
other bad habits, of the class usually subjected to this dis- 
cipline. The effects of trainers' regimen are hardness and 
firmness of the muscles, clearness of the skin, capability of 
bearing continued severe exercise, and a feeling of freedom 
and lightness, (or ' corkiness,') in the limbs. During the 
continuance of the system, it is found that the body recovers, 
with wonderful facility, from the effects of injuries ; wounds 
heal very rapidly ; and cutaneous eruptions usually disap- 
pear. 

Clearness and vigor of mind, also, are stated to be the 
results of this plan ; and it is probable that where persever- 
ing attention and intense application are necessary, a modi- 
fication of this system, in which due allowance should be 
made for the diminished quantity of exercise, would be found 
advantageous. The method of training employed by Jack- 
son, a celebrated trainer of prize-fighters, as deduced from 
his answers to questions put to him by John Bell, was, to 
begin on a clear foundation, by an emetic and two or three 
purges. 

Beef and mutton, the lean of fat meat being preferred, 
eonstituted the chief food. Veal, lamb, and pork, were said 
to be less digestible, (*the last purges some men.' ") 

Fish was said to be ''a watery kind of diet," and em- 
ployed only by jockeys, who wished to reduce weight by 
sweating. Stale bread was the only vegetable food allowed. 
The quantity of fluid permitted was 3 1-2 pints per diem ; 
but fermented liquors were strictly forbidden. Two full 
meals, with a light supper, were usually taken. The quan- 



TRAINING. " 241 

tity of exercise employed, was very considerable, and such 
as few men of ordinary strength could endure. This ac- 
count corresponds very much with that which Hunter gave of 
the North American Indians, when about to set out on a 
long march." 

Many other authorities might be quoted to the same effect, 
were it deemed necessary, but it is not, in my opinion, as 
every one likely to enter upon active training, will know 
enough to take care of himself then, as well as at any 
other time. 

No one need ever refrain from fear of injury, from going 
into training, because he has trained so many times before, as 
injury resulting merely from continuous or successive training, 
is beyond a possibility. 



10 



^v 



Miscellaneous 



BOAT-BUILDING, BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES, 

EACING RULES, DICTIONARY 

OF TERMS, ETC. 



BOAT-BUILDING. 



SINGLE SCULL BOATS. 



American Shells, now-a-days, are generally made of Spanish 
cedar, built with one plank on a side, without laps. The 
plank is usually an eighth and a sixteenth of an inch in 
thickness, so that it will bend easily ; about five inches high 
forward, and four inches aft. 

In the middle, where the man sits, there is a washboard 
about five inches deep, so that the place for the rower is 
about ten^ inches deep. 

The frame of the boat is first set up, and the planks after- 
wards bent on the timbers; the timbers are made of hackma 
tack, the knees also being from the roots of the hackmatack 
tree, which is very light and strong. 

The boats are covered forward and aft, with muslin, or 
oil silk or linen, which is then varnished and made water- 
tiorht. 



246 BOAT-BUILDINQ. 



A DOUBLE SCULL 

Is constructed upon the same principles, but a slightly dif- 
ferent model, being a little deeper and longer. The length 
of a single scull race boat is from thirty to thirty-two feet, by 
twelve or fourteen inches beam ; that of a scull boat for prac- 
tice or pleasure, should be twenty- eight or thirty feet long,, 
by from eighteen to twenty-two inches wide. 

A double scull boat should not be less than sixteen inches 
wide, by from thirty-two to thirty-five feet long ; six inches 
deep forward, five inches deep aft, and eleven inches in the 
middle, where the rowers sit. The material used for cover- 
ing a two pair is the same as for a single. 

The rowlocks used for single and double scull boats, are 
made from either three eighths round iron, or three eighths 
pipe for the braces, and by being galvanized, will keep better 
from getting rusty. The pipe rowlocks are only one half as- 
heavy as the solid iron ones, and are in every way sufficiently 
strong. 

The solid iron rowlocks cost about five dollars each, the 
pipe costing double that sum, as it is double the work ta 
make them. 

A single or double scull boat should have the rowlocks 
spread about five feet, to row nine feet six inch sculls, but if 
the sculls are made light, a man can row with ten feet sculls^ 
and if rowing cross-handed, ten feet four inch-sculls may even 
be used. 

The sculls used now-a-days are made, for the most part, of 
spruce timber, which is lighter and stronger than pine ; and as 



BOAT-BUILDING. 247 

for the style, spoon blades are now mostly altogether used as 
they hold the water better than the plain blade. 

When a man pnlls cross-handed, he requires a button on 
his oar to keep it from slipping outboard ; this is made of 
leather, and is secured by nails, and should be put on with a 
slant or curve, so that there is no jam to the oar in 
reaching. 

FOUR-OARED BOATS. 

Four-oared Racing Shells are from nineteen to twenty-two 
inches wide, seven inches deep forward, and six inches deep 
aft, and thirty-five to forty feet long, with a wash-board 
where the rowers sit. 

The outriggers on a four, are about twenty inches out- 
board, are made of one half-inch round iron or one-half inch 
pipe, the rowlocks costing, solid, five, and pipe ten dollars 
each. 

A SIX OAR 

Is from nineteen to twenty-two inches wide, and from 
forty-five to fifty-two feet long, seven and a half inches deep 
forward, and six and a half aft, and about twelve inches 
deep amidship, where the oarsmen sit. 

The rowlocks are the same as in a four, and the oars now 
used are mostly spoon fashion, and should be in fours and 
sixes, about twelve and a half to thirteen feet long. 

Shell boats are sometimes manufactured on a large model, 
and called clinker-built, or lapstreak shells, but they] are 
heavier than a smooth work shell, and not ^so fast. 



248 BOAT-BUILDING. 



A WHITEHALL BOAT 

Is a smootli work boat, nineteen feet long, pulling four 
oars or two pair sculls, with oak timbers, planked with 
about six inch boards, oak keel and caulked seams, and oak 
gunwale. 

A lapstreak, or clinker-built boat is made of boards, six 
inch wide, planked six on a side, the timbers being put in 
aft^r the boat is planked ly). 

There is no such boat in this country as an in-rigged ; 
if they are not out-rigged, they are what is correctly 
termed gunwale rigged, with thowle pins through the 
gunwale. 

They sometimes make an outrigger out of bent wood, 
but it takes almost as much iron to brace the wood, as to 
make it of iron entire. 

Lapstreak and Whitehall boats are made of oak and white 
cedar, the shells being made of Spanish cedar and hack- 
matack. 

Ash oars and sculls are cheaper than spruce, on account of 
having a plain blade, which enables them to be made by 
machinery, while the spruce spoon blade ha^ to be made of 
heavy timber, dug out by hand. 

A beginner who will learn to row with spoon sculls, will 
become so much attached to them as never to change. 



PAPEE BOATS. 



Among the many peculiarly American ideas, so prevalent 
at the present time, the very Yankee notion of constructing 
boats out of paper, is deserving of special notice, as bearing 
particularly upon the subject matter of this work. Many 
who will read this book will hear, for the first time, that there 
is established in this country a large manufactory, which has 
been in successful operation about three years, and which 
turns out annually, large numbers of beautifully finished 
pleasure and racing boats, of all sizes. But such is the case, 
and the favor with which these boats are received by the oars- 
men of America, would seem to indicate that they will final- 
ly be universally adopted, not only by Boat Clubs, for racing 
purposes, but by sportsmen, for hunting and fishing, and by 
the proprietors of watering places for pleasure rowing. 

In order that those of my readers who have never seen, or 
heard of these boats, if any there be, may comprehend their 
mode of construction and availability for different purposes, I 
will give a short description of the means by which boats 
are constructed out of paper. 



250 PAPER BOATS. 

In 1867, Mr. Geo. A. Waters, while experimenting with pa- 
per, conceived the idea of so preparing it, that it could be mould- 
ed over forms in single sheets, so as to make a very strong^, 
durable, and useful boat. In 1868, he and his father, Mr. 
Elisha Waters, of Troy, New York, took out patents for this 
purpose, in the United States and England. Soon after- 
wards, a company was formed under the name of Waters^ 
Balch & Co., consisting of Mr. Elisha Waters, Col. Geo. 
T. Balch, late of the U. S. Ordnance Department, and the- 
two sons of Mr. Waters, for the manufacture of paper boatSj, 
of every description. 

The manufactory is situated on the banks of the Hudson 
Kiver, about a mile above the City of Troy, near the State 
Dam. The slack-water created by this dam extends back 
nearly five miles, making one of the finest boating courses in 
the country. Over this course every boat is tested by the 
Boat Club composed of Mr. Waters and hi§ workmen, who 
have become experts in their handsome shell, in which 
they exercise every week. Great improvements have been 
recently made in the preparation of the paper, which enables 
the manufacturers to prepare the sheets of any required size 
and thickness suitable for a great variety of boats, while it 
is absolutely impervious to the action of water, and much 
stronger, lighter, and tougher, than any wood. 

The method of designing and modeling paper boats, re- 
quires high mathematical knowledge and rare mechanical 
skill, to secure the proper lines and proportions, and balance, 
for carrying. 

The paper sheets are moulded over wooden forms, in a 
moist state, and when dried, are taken off in a single piece, 
without joint or seam on either outer or inner surface, and 



PAPER BOATS. 251 

thus causing the least possible friction, for easy and rapid pas- 
sage through the water. The skin and decks are made of 
the strongest paper which can be manufactured, moulded into 
the model desired on solid forms of wood, the exact shape 
and size of the required boat ; supported and kept in shape 
by a framework of light wood, and finished up with fittings of 
wood and metal in the usual manner. The paper skin is finish- 
ed with hard varnishes, and presents a solid, horny and perfect- 
ly smooth surface to the action of the water, unbroken by joint, 
lap, or seam from stem to stern. This surface can be pol- 
ished as smooth as a mirror, if desired ; it caniiot be cracked 
or split like wood, no ordinary degree of heat or cold 
afi*ects its shape or hardness ; hence these boats are admir- 
ably adapted for use in all climates. 

All the shell boats are provided with compartments in the 
fore and after bodies, which are strictly air and water-tight : 
these increase the buoyancy of the boat ; the cockpit is only 
largo enough to accomodate the load, and hence can ship but 
little water. The boats preserve their rigidity and shape, and 
retain their original underwater lines more perfectly than 
any shell boats ever made, and they gain no weight by use. 
The kind of material used for the skin of the boat, enables 
the manufacturers to produce underwater lines which cannot 
be produced in wooden shells, except they be worked out of 
the solid wood, and even where this is practicable, it is found 
almost impossible to keep such lines in their original form 
for any length of time. 

The experience of over three years, and the constant im- 
provements which the manufacturers have been making in 
their work, has enabled them to overcome the objections made 
to some of their first boats, and to add a finish of construction 



252 PAPER BOATS. 

which all oarsmen will appreciate. In their shells the j pay 
particular attention to the perfect air and water-tightness of 
the compartments ; to the convenient and firm adjustment of the 
foot braces which is a great point in itself, and to the stiff- 
ness of the hulls in boats of light weight. The gigs and canoes 
for fishing and travelling are built after the best models used 
at the North and South, and form a distinctive feature of 
their business. 

For the construction of hunting or fishing boats, a light and 
strong frame of wood is prepared, composed of from ten to 
fifteen pair of ribs and suitable stem and stern pieces, cut 
from the natural crooks of hackmatack roots. These are 
firmly framed to two gunwales, each composed of a single 
piece of clear spruce, and to a pine kelson extending the 
length of the floor of the boat, the whole forming, when in po- 
sition, the skeleton shape of the desired model. ^ 

Over this frame, and inseperably attached to it, is stretched 
a paper skin, from an eighth to three-sixteenths of an inch 
thick, made from new, unbleached linen stock. This paper 
is made impervious to water, and then covered inside and out- 
side with a hard elastic varnish, presenting to the water, a 
surface so smooth that^ the friction, when the boat is, in mo- 
tion, is the very least attainable. The stem and stern posts 
are protected by galvanized iron or brass, and beckets are at- 
tached, by which the boat ma^^ be drawn in either direction. 
Strips are attached to the bottom to protect it from wear in 
hauling it upon shore, and wale strips of ash protect the up- 
per edges from wear or abrasion. 

These boats are so constructed as to afford great roomi- 
ness to a hunter for stowing his traps, steadiness, safety 
and speed. The wooden boats, after which these have been 



PAPER BOATS. 253 

modeled, have been in use for over ten years, and are pro- 
nounced by the first hunters in the country, the best sport- 
ing boats manufactured from wood, and excelled only by 
those manufactured of paper. 

With fishing and hunting, however, we have nothing to 
do, and this department of the business has only been pass- 
ingly mentioned, as showing the variety of craft manufac- 
tured by this firm. To presume that wooden boats are to 
be done away with in a year, would be unreasonable, as 
time is required to work such a change as the total abo- 
lition of wooden racing and pleasure boats, but if any 
evidence is wanted to show that Paper Boats are every 
day gaining popularity, it can be found by referring to the 
accounts of prominent races pulled during the past three 
years, in a majority of which paper boats were used by the 
most noted crews and oarsmen, both professional and ama- 
teur. They were pulled by the winners of fourteen matched 
races, in 1868, twenty-six match races during the season of 
1869, (their second year in use,) and fifty in 1870 — and 
they are to be found dotting many a lake and river, from 
Maine to Mexico. It has been said by some prominent 
American oarsmen, who are prejudiced against this class 
of boats, that they are a fraud, a failure, and what not, 
and that they never can compete with wooden boats, etc., 
etc., but the records of the races belie these assertions, and 
certainly the manufacturers would never have gone into 
the business on the scale they have, and invested money to 
the extent they have, unless they were fully confident that 
they could contend successfully with the builders of wooden 
boats. The prices of these boats have suffered a reduction 
every year, and when* they shall be so low as to place 



254 PAPER BOATS. 

a favorable difference In price between them and wood- 
en boats, it will be demonstrated to the satisfaction of 
all, that they merit everything that is claimed for them. 

All who have been connected with boat clubs know that 
they suffer very often from pecuniary embarrassment, and 
naturally enough, an organization which has scarcely more 
than sufficient money in the treasury to purchase a boat, will 
be shy of risking its corporate existence on a paper boat, of 
which they perhaps know nothing, when for the same money 
they can buy a cedar shell modeled after those that have 
been in use for years. 

But time will demonstrate the superiority of Paper Boats 
over wooden ones, as it did the superiority of the steam en- 
gine over the stage coach, although we do not mean this as a 
comparison of speed between the wooden and paper boats. 
Before leaving this subject of paper boats, I will call the 
special attention of the reader to the annexed letter from 
Annapolis, which is in reply to a letter of inquiry (written 
by me) to its author, who is a gentleman of the highest vera- 
city, and one for whose word I am personally able to vouch. 



Annapolis, Md., November, 1869. 

EoBT. B. Johnson : 

Dear Sir^ — Your letter inquiring in regard to Paper Boats 
is received. * * * *. * * * 



PAPER BOATS. 255 

ThiT class of boats have ever j advantage over the cedar 
built shells, while, to my knowledge, not a single objection 
exists. Their advantages over cedar shells are : By far 
greater strength ; less weight ; greater durability ; they re- 
quire hardly any care ; never leak, and never warp. 

They can be moulded into any shape whatever, to suit 
the designer's lines, which wooden shells cannot, so that any 
Oneness of both extremities is easily produced. Their great 
beauty and parlor finish is also not to be overlooked. Our 
oldest shell is nearly three years old, has seen very rough 
usage, and is as good as new. The chances are in favor 
of its lasting another three years. The only expense we 
have had during this time, is about one dollars' worth of 
«copal varnish, with which we have given her a couple of 
coatings. At the same time, another Club possessed a wooden 
.shell ; she is now nearly broken up with age, (three years^ 
old,) and hardly a foot of her is to be seen that has not 
Ibeen patched in some way or other. 

In last year's (1869,) race, our four-oared paper shell 
beat a '' six-oared " cedar shell, by long odds, although the 
*crews were pretty well matched, making the three miles 
in eighteen minutes thirty-five seconds. 

I would regard the purchase of a wooden shell as waste 
of money The firm which manufactures Paper Boats 
(Waters, Balch & Co., of Troy, New York,) also sup- 
ply splendid oars with their boats. It may be some time 
before they come into general use, as there is always some 
prejudice against anything new. The Academy boats are 
;all built to pull without a coxswain, but the manufacturers 
make them either with or without, just as those ordering 
them prefer. 



256 PAPER BOATS, 

But before closing I would say that I advise persons wish- 
ing to purchase boats, to get paper ones ** by all means." 
Yours &c., 

0. P. KUNHAEDT, 

U. S. Naval Academy. 



BIOaRAPHIOAL SKETCHES. 



HENRY COULTER. 

Henry Coulter was born in the thriving village of Man- 
chester, Pa., located about two miles below Pittsburgh, on 
the northern bank of fche Ohio River, in the month of Febru- 
ary 1842. 

Like Hamill, at an early age, he developed a taste for boat- 
ing, and many of his leisure hours during boy-hood were spent 
in endeavoring to become proficient in feathering the spruces. 
In the summer of 1867, he had acquired so much skill in 
, manipulating the blades, that his friends matched him.against 
Fred Wolfe, in a five mile contest for two hundred and fifty 
dollars a side. This was to have been decided on August 
24th, 1856, but in the interim, Coulter had effected a more 
desirable match with the veteran, Bill Jackson, and from poli- 
cy, he paid forfeit to Wolfe. He rowed Jackson, on August 
24th, 1867, for ^ye hundred dollars a side, over the lower 
Monongahela course, and achieved his maiden victory as a 
single sculler, by beating his opponent four lengths ; the time 
given being 38.20. 
17 



258 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 

This clever performance gained him many backers, and lie 
soon took a leading position in the aquatic world. 

Since that time he has pulled in many of the best races in 
this country, and his name still occupies an enviable position 
among our professional oarsmen. 

Coulter stands five feet eight and one half inches high, and 
weighs about one hundred and sixty-eight pounds. 



JOSH WARD. 

Josh was born in the same year with Hamill, and com« 
menced his rowing career about the same time. His birth 
place was Newburgh, New York. 

Josh is a fine specimen of a man, standing perhaps a little 
better than six feet in height, and races at from one hundred 
and fifty to one hundred and sixty pounds,. His first bid for 
aquatic honors, was at the age of nineteen, when, with his 
brother Henry, he pulled a two-pair sculls, in a regatta at 
his native place, on the 4th of July, 1857, over a four-mile 
course, the Wards winning in 33.30. From this time until 
October, 1859, he rowed in some six match races, both as 
sculler and rower, in most of which he was victorious. 

On the 11th of October, 1869, there was a regatta off 
Staten Island, for a purse of one hundred dollars and the 
championship, in which were entered Fay, Daw, and Han- 
con, ail good oarsmen. 

The course was five miles, with one turn, and Ward pull- 
ed a twenty-five foot boat, built by Donobue.. 

Ward came home a long way ahead, in about the best time 
ever made, viz : '* Thirty-five minutes and ten seconds." 

After this race, made in time never yet equaled, Wards' 



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 259 

reputation became wide-spread, and he was looked upon as 
the best sculler in the United States. 

He took part in numerous regattas, at Boston, Poughkeep- 
sie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and other places, and achieved a 
reputation which has made him the pet oarsman of 
America. 

Josh Wards races have been numerous, and his triumphs 
glorious, and he has a record which he can always refer to 
with pride. He is a good natured, convivial and thoroughly 
American Oarsman. 



JAMES HAMILL. 

James Hamill was born in Pittsburgh^ the Smoky City, 
in 1838, stands about five feet six inches high, and presents 
a wonderfully muscular front. 

When in training, he pulls the scales at about one hundred 
and fifty pounds, but when out of condition, weighs consid- 
erable more than that. 

He commenced his career as an oarsman, at quite a tender 
age, and has not yet retired from the arena. Hamili's career, 
like that of every champion athlete, no matter whom, has 
been a series of triumphs and defeats, of which he may well 
feel proud, for he has never been defeated by any but a first- 
class oarsman. 

He has beaten, intermittingly, Wolfe, Josh Ward and 
others. He still lives in Pittsburgh, from whence he is oc- 
casionally heard threatening to pull some one for the cham- 
pionship. 



260 BIOaRAPHICAL SKETCHES. 



WALTER BROWN. 



Tbe name of Walter Brown has been prominently before 
the American people for a number of years, as an oarsman of 
superior ability, and his history contains a list of a great 
many victories, gained over some of the best oarsmen in 
America. 

He was born in Madison' Greene County, New York, Oc- 
tober 7th, 1840. He rowed at a hundred and fifty to a hun- 
dred and sixty pounds, and stood five feet nine inches high. 
His first race was in 1858, at Newburgh, and he and Edmon- 
ston won a double-scull race, against seven competitors, two 
miles in sixteen minutes. 

He has defeated Ward in two races, and went to Eng- 
land, in 1869, intendiog to pull the champion English scull- 
ers, but forfeited his money in his first match, from indispo- 
sition. 

Brown always pulled a very good oar, and has pulled in 
scores of races, some of which have been for large sums of 
money. 

He died last month, (March 1871,) from the efi*ects of a 
cold caught while attempting to clear the ice from in front of 
his Boat house, at Boston. His death leaves the single-scull 
championship of America without a possessor. 



RULES FOR BOAT RACES. 



ENTRIES. 

Rule I.— The privileges of Entry shall he decided upon by the Committee in 
charge of the Regatta, who will settle upon the time up to which entries may 
be made. ^Regattas given under city auspices shiall be open to all Local 
Clubs and Crews. The name of the Club or Crew, and the class of boat, is all 
that will be necessary to specify. 

STARTING. 

Rule II.— Sec. 1. The Start should be made by the Referee or a Starter 
appointed for the purpose ; the manner of starting to be previously settled by 
the .Judges. Before giving the word or signal, the Starter shall ask distinctly 
three times : ''Are you ready ?" If " No !" is answered the first time, he 
shall allow sufficient time for any adjustment that is necessary, and repeat 
the question. After asking the third time, he shall not wait for an answer, 
but give the signal, whatever it may be. 

Sec. 2. Any Crev>'', starting before the time, shall be recalled and made to 
resume their proper place. After the signal is given, and the boats have 
started, ko recall can be made. 

POSITION— FOULING . 

Rule III.— Lots shall be drawn to decide the positioi of each boat. The 
party winning first choice, selects what they deem the best position ; 
those winning second, third, etc., doing likewise. A boat is entitled to any 
position which it can take and keep in a race. But, if after having taken 
another boat's water, the boat whose water has been so taken shall over- 



262 RULES FOB BOAT RACES. 

haul and " butt " the boat which took it, with either boat or oars, and 
claim a foul, it shall be decided in their favor. TVhen a boat leaves its own 
water to take that of another, it assumes the rewponsibilty of keeping euch j}Ob- 
sition and is guilt3'- of fouling, if colhsion occurs, even if by direct action of the 
OLher. If four boats are rachig, and the third boat shaU take the second boats' 
water, and the fourth boat, the third boats' v/ater, and they two shall foul, the 
decision shall be rendered according to the water in v/hich the foul occurred; 
if in the water held by the third boat, the decision shall be in its favor, or 
if in that of the fourth boat " vice versa." Complaints ol foul must be made to 
the Judges before they shall give the decision or av>"ard the piize. 

PRIVELEGES. 

Rule IV. — In match races, the challenged party shall have the privilege of 
naming the time at which such race shall occur, and the course upon which 
it shall be pulled. The course shall be either with or against the tide, and 
shall be straight, or with a turn, at the option of the party challenged. Tho 
challenging party has the privilege of naming the class of boats to be used. 

AUTHORITY OY JUDGES AND REFEREES. 

Rule V. — Judges, unless they disagree, have power to settle all questions in 
dispute, m a race. Should they be equally divided upon any subject, the 
question must be submitted to the Referee, from whose decision there is no 
appeal. Incases nhere a coilislon or foul of two boats occurs, which shall bo 
declared unavoidable and unintentional, the judges h^ve the right to order a 
repetition. In City Regattas, the Judges may regulate all the conditions, and 
rule out any party for ungentlemanly or unbecoming conduct. There should 
be four Judges ; two at the starting point, and two at the out stake. The 
Referee should be at the starting- point. 



'& X' 



TIME ALLOWANCE. 

Rule VI. — It is usual for shell boats to allow lapstreaks a certain number 
of seconds in a race, which is a very just provision, as the tormer, without 
doubt, possess greater speed than the latter. The number of seconds to be 
allowed will, of course, depend upon whether both boats carry Coxswains ; 
the number of extra oars, etc. Shells should allov/ Lapstreaks eight seconds 
per mile, if equally manned. Boats pulling extra oars shall allow five seconda 
per mile for each oar. • 

CHAMPIONSHIP HONORS. 
Rule VII. — The Professional Championship of the United States shall be de- 



RULES FOR BOAT RACES. 263 

cided as follows : A party claimlDg the CliampioDHhip shall he prepared to 
maiDtain the same, upon the following conditionzs : 1st. He ia bound to ac- 
cept a challenge from any citizen of the United States, within thirty days 
from the date of receiving such challenge, and to puil the race within ninety 
days from the same date, if the challenging party so desires. The time and 
place to be at the option of the challenged party. 2d. The challenged party 
has the right to name the amount of the stake to be pulled for ; but the chal- 
lenging party, if he so desires, may restrict the stake to the same amount 
won by the champion himself, when he achieved that honor. The champion 
is not bound to pull for a less' amount than the stake at the matclt in which he 
won the champioDship. The challenging party must first deposit a forfeit of 
such amount as the challenged party shall require, so that it does not exceed 
more than half the stake, which the latter is obliged to cover, before any arti- 
cles of agreement are signed. Each party shall then select two Judges, who 
in turn shall select a Referee. Either party may use whatever style of boiH^he 
sees fit, and is at liberty to adopt any and all improvements. The Referee 
xnust be selected ten days before the date tixed for tlie race. If cither 
principal shall fail to appear upon the day of the race, he shall forfeit the full 
amount of the stake. But the Champion shall not forfeit his title if he can 
produce a sworn statement from some respectable medical practitioner, certi- 
fying that he was incapacitated by sickness from engaging in the contest. He 
is, however, obliged to accept a second challenge from the same party, and 
pull a race within ninety days from the date of the first race, provided the 
challenging party shall deposit a stake equal in amount to that forfeited by 
the champion. If the champion fails a second time to appear, the challeng- 
ing party shall be adjudged to have won the championship and the stake. 
The challenged party has the privilege of making the course equal in length 
to that upon which he himself achieved the championship, and is not obliged 
to pull upon one longer. 

ROWING ETIQUETTE. 

Upon Racing Day, each Crew, upon coming up to the line, should salute th 
Judges and Referee ; if in a shell, the Coxswain or Captain will simply 
raise his hat ; if a lapstreak, the Crew should peak oars. When coming home, 
the victorious crew should peak to the vanquished, and escort them to their 
resting place. 

During Practice, if Crews meet, they should simply exchange salutes 
through the Coxswains or Captains, who will touch hats to (me another. 



BOATING TERMS. 



ALPHABETICALLY ARRANGED. 



Astern — Behind. 

Apron — Attached to the stern inside the boat, to which the middle and iipi)cr 
streaks are nailed. 
Athwart — Across. 
Amidehips — In the middle. 



Backwater — Ret'erse the action of Rowing. 

Back-Board — Tliis is what the Rower rests his hack against. 

Binding-Streak — The first plank put on a smooth work boat. 

Blade — Mat part of the oar, or the portion which is dipped into the water. 

Boat-Hoo)i — An iron hook with a point on the. hack, fixed to a long pole, to- 
pull or push a boat. 

Boating — The act or practice of sailng in a boat. 

Boatable— Navigable for boats. . . ' 

Boat-Rope— Painter, a rope to fasten a boat. 

Bow-Oar — The oar nearest the bow of the boat. 

Breast-Hook — A kn,ee fitted in at the bow, and secured to the gunwales and 
Btern. 

Button — The attachment which balances the oar in its place. 

Buoy — Buoy is used as a stake. 



BOATING TERMS. 2Q5 

By-the-Head — When the bow is lower in the water than the stern. 
By-the-3tern — Wlien the stern draws more water in proportion than the bow, 
is not true on the water line. 

c 

Canoe — A boat formed of the body or trunk of a tree, hollowed out by cutting 
or burning. The Indians also make light canoes from small branches of trees 
and dry birch bark. 

Coxswain — The one who steers the boat. 

Crab — When the water catches the oar and turns its blade, so that the Rower 
cannot extricate it without much difficulty, it is called " catching a crab." 

Crew — All belonging to the boat. 

Crank — Easily overset, or thrown on one side. 

Clinker- Work— When the lower edge of every plank overlays the next below 
it, like slate on the roof of a house. 

]> 

Bash — The Rower using the utmost of his power to propel the boat. 

Dead- Wood — Pieces put in where the keel and stem and stern poet are 
united. 

Dip — The blade of the oar in the water. 

Dug-Out — Canoe. 

Dory — A light flat -bottom row boat, with both ends raised, having nearly 
the form of a akiS. 

E 

Basy-AU — Easing, or ceasing to row. 
Easing — To cease rowing. 

Fishing— Laying the ends of two pieces of timber together and fastening a 
third piece to both. 

Feathering—Turning the blade of the oar from a perpendicular to a horizon- 
tal position. 

Floor — The water-line model of a boat. 

Foul — To run. against. 

Foot-Boards— Flooring ; loose boards placed inside the boat, running fore-and- 
aft, resting on the floor timbers between the footlings. 

Footlings— Fastened to the floor tiirbers on each side of the foot-boards. 

Fore-and-Aft — Lengthwise the boat. 



266 BOATING TERMS. 

Fore-and-Aft Stretchers — Pieces runnicg fore-and-aft at the top of the foot- 
boaidg, acting as stretcher-braces. 

Feather and Weigh — A style of stroke in which the Rower pausfeB momen- 
tarily, after taking his oar out of the water. 

Futtocks — The ribs or timbers to which the planks are fastened. 

Garboard-Streak — Fastened to floor timbers, and to the stem and fltern- 
post, at the keel. 
Giveaway — Commencing to row. 
Gunwale — The inside strip fastened to the top streak. 



Hogged — Curved ; the ends being lower than the middle. 

I ' 

Inclined Plants — Inclined Planes are used for lowering boats from tlie houae 
into the water. 

M. 

Keel — The principal timber in a boat, extending from stem to stern at the 
bottom, and supporting the whole frame. 
Keelson — A piece of timber on the floor timbers over the keel. 
Keelson-Board — Temporary or moveable floor, resting on the floor timbers. 

1^ ^ 

Larboard — Left side of the boat. 

Launch — The act of puttting a boat in the water. 

Lap-Streak — Same as Clinker-Built. 

Limber-Holes — Small holes cut on the under side of the timbers, to allow 
water to pass from the extreme ends of the boat into the well-hole. 

Lower-Streak — Next above the shutter-streak. 

Loom — That part of the oar between the row-lock and the handle. Square 
and round. 

o 

Oars — Spoon— Spoon-shaped. 
Oars — Flat-blade. 

Oars-a-Peak — Standing the oars up, with the handles resting on the floor of 
the bo-at. 



BOATING TERMS. 267 

Oarsman — A Eower, or one who impels a boat by means of oars. 
Outrigger — Rowlocks standing upon a frame outboard from the gunwale. 
Outrigger-Barge — Square stern ciinker-buiit, etc. 



Painter — A rope at the bow of the boat used to fasten it. 
Port — Left or larboard side of a boat. 
Pulling — Rowing. 



Regatta, pronounced Regetta— A race between two or more boats. 

Rudder— The instrument by which the boat is steered. 

Rowing Open-IIanded — Keeping the hand.* level with the looms, and al- 
ways having a space between the iajfcter. 

Rowing Over-Handed — Having one hand and loom overlap the other. 

Oross-Handed — PuUing the left scull with the right hand, and "vice 
versa." 

Risings — A piece of plank fastened to the ribs inside, upon which the thwarts 
rest. 

Rowing — The act of impelling a>4)oat by oars. 

Rowlock — That x>art on which the oar re^^ts in rowing. 

Rower— Oarsman, or one who rows a boat. 

ScTill — A short oar ; when two short oars are used by a rower, one on either 
side of the boat, they are called sculls. 

Sculling — Rowing with two sculls. 

Scarf — To unite two pieces of timber at the ends, by letting the end of one 
into the end of the other and bolting them together. 

Scag — The after part of the keel. 

Scag-Band— A strip of metal protecting the scag. 

Scewed — When the keel is crooked or curved. 

Sheer — The longitudinal curve or bend of the top of a boat. 

Stem-Band-— A metal band placed on the stem of the boat, from the top, and 
reaching to the keel, forming the cutwater. 

Stem — A circular piece of timber to which the two sides of the boat are united 
at the fore end. 

Slings — Canvass or other supports for a boat suspended from the oeiling in 
a boat house. 

Stern-x\ll— Back all; to back water with the oars, 

Stem-Way — The movement of a boat backward. 



268 BOATING TERMS. 

Stern-Post — The piece of timber erected on the extremity of the keel to sup- 
port the rudder, and terminates the boat behind . 

Sternmost — Furthest in the rear. 

Stern-Chase — When a boat astern is trying to overhaul one in advance, the 
endeavor is called a stern-chase. 

Stern-Fast — A rope used to confine the stern of a boat. 

Ship — Placing the oars in the rowlocks. 

Shoot— When the oars are in the water and the power of the rowers is ap- 
plied, the boat receives an impetus which is called the shoot. 

Shutter-Streak — Between the board and lower streaks. 

Starboard — Right side of boat. 

Stake-Boat — A boat moored at the end of the course, opposite the starting 
point. 

Stiff— Not easily careened or thrown to one side. 

Stowing — Replacing articles in their proper position. 

Skiff — A light, flat bottom row bcat^ generally without a keel and raised at 
both ends. The bottom of a skiff would form nearly one-sixth of a circle. 
Thej'- are built in various styles in different localities. 

Skeleton Boats— Skeleton boats are constructed for a certain weight, and are 
used as race boats. None others are skeletons. 

Streaks — Planks ; they form the outside, and on a smooth-work boat are 
placed in the following order, commencing at the keel : 1st. Garboard streak. 
2d. Board streak. 3d. Shutter streak. 4th» Lower streak. 6th. Binding 
streak. Qlh. Upper streak. 

Stretcher — A moveable piece of timber, fixed across the floor of the boat for 
the feet of the oarsman. 

Stroke — The sweep of an oar in rowing. 

Stroke-Oar — The sterntaost oar. 

Strokesman— The man who rows the aftermost oar. 

Stern-Sheets — That part of the boat which is bet'^^^een the aftermost seat of 
the rowers and the stern,, usually in a barge or working boat, furnished with 
Beats. 

Swivels — Metal rowlocks, working on a pin inserted in the gunwales. 

T 

Thwart — The seat or bench of a boat on which the rower sits ; the seat 
being placed athwart the boat. 

Traveler— An apparatus by which one of the pullers steers a boat. 

Thole — A pin inserted in the gunwale of a boat to keep the oars in the 
rowlocks when used in rowing. 

Taut — (Webster spells it taught) — Tight, not slack. 

Thwart-Knees — By which the thwarts are fastened to the sides of ihe 
boat 



BOATING TERMS 269 

Thole-Steps — A piece of hard wood fastened to the under part of the gun- 
wale on the inside, pierced for the insertion of the bottom or table. 
Top-Streak — Upppcr streak ; the plank above the binding-streak. 
Transom-Knees— Securing the gunwale and upper stretch to the stem. 
Trimming — Trimming a boat is to balance it so that she will not wiggle. 



Unship — Throwing the oars out of the rowlocks. 
Upper-Streak — Top streak. 

W 

Water-Line — A horizontal line, supposed to be drawn about a boat's bottom 
at the surface of the water. 

Well-Hole — A hole in the bottom of the boat to let out the water. 

Whitehall Boat~-See description. 

Wherry — A shallow, light boat, built sharp at both ends, for fast rowing; 

Wale-Streak — Gunwale . 

Wash-Streak — The streak above the gunwale in which the rowlocks are 
cut. / 



Yoke— \ piece of wood or metal at right angles to the head of a boat's 
rudder, from the ends of which are lines by which the boat is steered. 



LETTEE FROM EGBERT PULTON. 



Carleton, St. Jonh, N. B., ) 
February 18th, 1871. j 
RoBT. B. Johnson : 

Dear Sir — I received your letter of January 28tli, and 
was surprised, upon reading it, to find that you had not re- 
ceived the particulars relating to our training and boat rac- 
ing. I sketched the account myself, and left it with a young 
friend of mine, a lawyer, to copy and forward to you, which 
he said he would do. 

However, as he has neglected to do so, 1 will prepare the 

article myself, and send it. Hoping that this will prove 

satisfactory, I remain, 

Yours, truly, 

ROB'T FULTON 



The above letter was duly received, but the promised 
contribution has iwt come to hand in tim.e to be inserted, 
probably, because Mr. Fulton has been so busil}' engaged in 
preparing for the Great Race of next summer, as to be 
unable to bestow the necessary time upon it. It is with 
regret tliat I close the work without a letter from the genial 
and generous hearted Stroke of the " Paris Crew.'' 

R. B. J. 



CONTENTS. 



Acknowledgment, . . 

Preface, ....... 

Exercise — Its Relation to Health, . 

Rowing as an Exercise, . 

Morality of Rowing, . . . . 

Rowing — Ancient, .... 

** Modern, - . . , 

American College Races, . . 
Carnival of College Sucklings, 
Practical Rowing, .... 

Contributions on Rowing and Training, 
Training — Introductory and Historical, 

*' Practical, . 

** Amateur, 

Digestibility of Food, 
Troubles in Training, .... 

Training not Injurious, ... 
Boat Building, . . . . 

Paper Boats, ...... 

Biographical Sketches, ... 
Boating Rules, ...... 

** Terms, . . . 



pagb 

4 

5 

10 

27 

33 

37 

46 

74 

80 

99 

137 

182 

195 

223 

232 

235 

238 

245 

247 

257 

261 

264 



/ 



PA. PER BO^TS 

Have been rowed by the winners of NINETY RACES 
since their introduction in 1868, viz : — 14 in 1868 ; 26 in 
1869 ; and 50 in 1870. 

For racing and training, they are preferred to those of 
wood by the midshipmen at the United States Naval Acade- 
my, by numerous Boat Clubs, and by numbers of the best 
Oarsmen in the country. 

Our New Circular and Price List for 1871 is Now Heady, 
and will be mailed free on application by letter. 

We have in press, and shall publish in April, our AN- 
NUAL ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE AND OARS- 
MAN'S MANUAL FOR 1871, one Large Quarto Volume 
of 230 pages, printed in colors on tinted paper, containing 
fifty fine illustrations on wood, and four large folding plates, 
(12 x40 inches^ strongly bound in muslin. Price §5.00. 

BRIEF OF CONTENTS : 

INTEODUCTION.— Chapter I.—General history of rowing as a means of physical 
training, in England and the United States, during the past fifty years. 
Chapter II.— General classification and description of boats. Wood- 
en and Paper Boats compared. General discussion of the details of 
Racing Boats. 

Part I.— Detailed description of all the different varieties of boats, oars and 
sculls built by us, fully illustrated. Details of care and repair, cost of 
shipment, &c. 

Part II.— Hints to oarsmen on rowing and training. Books to be consulted. 
Best boats for beginners and adepts. Hints on the organization of boat 
clubs. Copies of the Constitution and By-Laws of five proniinent 
clubs in the United States. 



PAPER BOATS. 

(Brief of Contents — Continued.) 

Part III. — On boat racing. Rules adopted by the highest authorities. Eaces 
won by Paper Boats, 1868, '69 and TO. Harvard vs. Yale, and Oxford 
vs. Cambridge races, and those of the most prominent Regatta Associ- 
ations in the U. S.-* \ •i' i ' I / 

Part IV.^Complete list of the^ oat- and R'ovvmg" Club3 oi the United States 
and Canada, on the 30th of November, 1870, with full details of each 
■ '"' '■ Club, in regard to their offic'^rs,' 'organization,' (Constitution an^ By- 
Laws, Boat Houses^. Boats. Estimated value of property, and des- 
cription of the course each uses for rowing.. < , 

Part V. — Plans, sections, elevations and descriptive details of Boat Houses, 
costing from |150 to $5,000, with bills of ma ferial and all necessaiy 
data for building purposes. 

Our New Circular for 1871, gives tlie contfents of each 
part in full. 

H®* Iii congecjuetice^of tne cost of tms work, but a limited 
edition will be pritlt^d, one Half of wbicb is already taken. 
Those desiring it, should send in their names early. Sub- 
scriptions will now be received. \ 

Eor fttrthei*^ partibulats, address 

303 River Street, Troy, Nfew Ybrk. 



. BROdWS, 

Boat Bi3.il del? aild Oai* 

MANUFACTURER. 

227 SOUTH WATER STREET, MILWAUKEE, 

WISCONSIN. 

YACHTS, YAWLS, ROW AND RACE BOATS AND 

OARS MADE TO ORDER, ON 

SHORT NOTICE. 



Old Boats taken in Exchange. 



MANUFACTURER OF 

SHELLS, barons; tACHTS, WOOD ANl) METALl'C 

LIFE BOATS A^j6 S^fEAM YACHT 

BOAT BFILDiER; 

114th Strbbt, Harlem Bitbk, and 368 South Street, 

N«w York. 



-XtMiegm^ifr-rfS:*- . :««:<Bie»*^f.i 



•-T. * -* ^ <-*■■■ 



BOATS AWB^ OAES Mimf#ii^6OTM)^ cftl tM Shortest 
Notice, in the Best Style of tlie Art, and at Lowest, Pfieee-; 

■t>i r 7 ' J- < 






Five per cent, off for orders received between the months df WiWtftffllkr tisit 
January. 



Ingersoll's 
G-reat ^mericaii Boat 

AND OAK BAZAAK. 



(Our Bazaak, 159 South Street, New YorKj was Es- 
tablished IN 1828.) 



LAKGEST AND CHEAPEST ESTABLISHMENT OF 
THE KIND IN THE WOKLD ! 



Our Boats have won more Regattas than those of any 
other Ten Builders in the United States. All kinds of 
Sail and Steam Yachts. 

INGERSOLL'S METALLIC LIFE BOATS AND 

RAFTS. 

8^=^ One Hundred Boats on hand. 



** At the present time, there are in this city Twenty Firms, engaged in Boat 
Building. Each of these Shops employs an average of three men, with the 
exception of INGERSOLL»S BAZAAR, where from One Hundred to Theee 
Hundred men are employed. This is the Largest Boat Building Establish- 
ment in the World." — [From New York Commercial Advertiser. 



WOODEN AND IRON BOATS of all kinds and des- 

CBIPTIONS OH HAND AND BUILT TO ORDBE. 

STEAM YACHT FOR TEN PERSONS, Seten Hun- 
dred Dollars. 



1- 



